Best Seigaku Romance Novel
by kitty.has.a.pen
Summary: Sakuno is left at home while Ryuzaki-sensei is in America! Of course a young girl like her can't stay home alone! So who better to take care of her than our favorite stoic captain!
1. Beginning

Summary: Ryuzaki-sensei has to go abroad for some reason and she can't leave her precious grand daughter all alone can she? So she does the next best thing, request that Tezuka-senpai take care of her while she was away. Will any feelings blossom between these two? What about Ryoma!?!?!?

**Chapter 1- Nani!?!? T-tezuka-senpai's house?!?!**

"Sakuno, there's no other way. I'm not letting you live alone for one month!" Ryuzaki-sense repeated for the 10th time exasperated.

"D-demo!!! I can stay with someone else!!! Why him?!?! Why not Tomoko-chan!!!" Sakuno tried to reason with her grandmother.

Ryuzaki-sense sighed tiredly. "Tomoko has 2 brothers to look after. Besides, what's wrong with Tezuka? He's a responsible young man and he'll take good care of you." She explained to teen beside her. The way she was said it made it sound like she was marrying her off to Tezuka.

Sakuno's grip on her bag tightened. "But, we've never talked before now, and it's embarrasing for me to stay with him! We're practically strangers to each other!!!" she looked directly into Ryuzaki-sensei's eyes pleadingly, revealing the source of her worry.

"Don't be silly Sakuno. He baby sat you remember?" Ryuzaki-sensei reminded her grand daughter with an amused smile.

_"But that was a long time ago!!!"_ Sakuno screamed in her head.

"Here we go" she said as the car stopped in front of an old middle class house. "Tezuka's grandparents are also out so don't give Tezuka much trouble ok?" she smiled.

Sakuno sighed; there was no way out of this. She'll have to bear with it for the time being. It can't be that bad right?

"Hai." she answered, giving her grandmother her word that she wouldn't cause any trouble for herself and the man she'll be living with for one month. She slowly stepped out of the car with her luggage and waved goodbye as her grandmother drived off to the airport.

Sakuno stood in front of the door not knowing what to do. "Eto... Should I knock? Or wait here..." she debated with herself not noticing the door in front of her open revealing a tall gorgeous male specimen.

"Ryuzaki." Tezuka called the girl snapping her out of her trance. She looked up to find emotionless brown eyes staring at her.

"T-Tezuka-senpai!!!" she exclaimed in surprise stepping back slightly causing her to trip over the suitcase behind her.

"Eep!!!" Sakuno exclaimed falling on her butt.

Tezuka sighed at the girl he was supposed to be watching. "This will be a long month..." he thought to himself as Sakuno stood up blushing madly muttering apologies for something which wasn't really her fault. "Come in." he told her as he took her suitcase and walked in the house.

"A-arigatou!!!" she stuttered as she hurriedly followed Tezuka.

Walking in the house hurriedly she didn't immediately notice the decor of the home she would be staying at. "Your room is on the 2nd floor 3rd door to the right." she heard Tezuka say as he put down the luggage.

She nodded shyly looking around the beautifully furnished house. It felt very homey unlike how she imagined it to be. "You have a very beautiful house, Tezuka-senpai..." she smiled playing with the hem of her skirt.

Tezuka murmured silent thanks before leading her to her room. A long silence covered them as they walked to her soon-to-be room. Tezuka opened the door gesturing Sakuno to come inside. She obliged quickly as to not irritate the buchou.

"This is so nice... Arigatou gozaimasu!!!" she smiled thankfully up at the stoic captain.

"Its nothing." he said as he walked into the living room with her following. "Ryuzaki, before we have dinner there are a few matters which I must discuss with you." he sat down on a chair.

Sakuno slightly paled wondering what he would want to talk about. "H-hai!!" she sat down directly in front of him, once again clutching the edge of her skirt making him wonder briefly what fascination she had with it.

"We will be living together for a month until your grand mother gets back and I want you to know the rules in this house." he started off. Sakuno inwardly sighed in relief. She thought he was going to say something bad. She nodded for him to go on preparing herself to follow whatever rules he was going to inform her of. Not knowing of the perils ahead of her.

**Chapter 2- Tezuka's rules**

Sakuno leaned on the door as he slowly closed it. Her talk with Tezuka was absolutely brutal. How could he come up with so many rules?! Okay, maybe that was due to the fact he was Seigaku's captain and star player but those rules were too much!

She didn't want to act like a diva or anything; she promised her grandmother that she would be good and follow everything Tezuka says. But those rules would be the death of her!!! Really!!!

That man brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'over the top'. She can't possibly follow all those rules and keep her social life. All those rules compiled would probably make a handbook! She sighed and looked at the pieces of paper in her hands. "Better get started if I want to finish..."

Tezuka's if-you-don't-follow-I'll-make-you-run-50-laps- rules and regulations as so lovingly named by Sakuno:

1. No phone calls on school days unless for projects (same goes for the computer and cell phones)

2. No outings on week ends without Tezuka's permission (Seigaku matches are accepted)

3. No dates

4. Make your own breakfast/lunch

5. No sleepovers

Sakuno read the first five rules over and over with a dazed expression. This was really too much! No phone on Monday to Friday?! What about her and Tomoko's daily phone calls!?!? No computer and cell phone?! No outings?!?! Her shoulders slumped slightly "It can't get any worse..." she thought to herself as she continued reading.

6. Be home by 5 on school days

7. Not allowed to go to other classmate's houses

8. Only 30 minutes are allotted for the bath

9. No screaming/whining/complaining

10. Dinner should be cooked by 8 o'clock

She sighed in relief. "It wasn't as bad as the first 5..." she thought positively. Then reread number 10. "Dinner at 8?" she said aloud. "Does that mean I'll be the one cooking?" she thought to herself. She looked at the clock. It read 7:30. "Oh no!!! 30 minutes left!!!" she quickly scrambled to her feet heading to the kitchen her braids flying behind her.

She entered the kitchen thinking of something edible to cook not noticing the Seigaku captain already cooking dinner.

"Ryuzaki?" a voice snapped her out of her trance. She immediately looked up meeting the slightly surprised eyes of her buchou.

"T-tezuka-senpai!!! I just... thought I would be cooking dinner..." she mumbled embarrassedly.

Tezuka raised an eyebrow. "You are, but since it's your first day here I decided to cook." he informed her tasting the meal he was currently focusing on.

"A-arigatou!!! You didn't have to!!!" she replied flailing her arms cutely, blushing all the while. _The_ _Tezuka_, cooking for her, she couldn't wait to tell Tomoko!!! Tezuka raised an eyebrow at his charge slightly amused by her actions.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked shyly. He nodded tilting his head at the table "You can fix the table." she nodded getting the spoons and forks. Silence covered them as they worked silently. "Mou... It's so silent. Demo... What do I say?" she thought to herself.

"Tezuka-senpai!"

"Ryuzaki."

They both said at the same time.

Sakuno blushed lightly "Hai?" she asked him.

"Dinner is ready." he told her.

"Ah!!! The table is finished as well!!!" she replied quickly watching as Tezuka put the food on the table. "He's really handsome. I can see why so many of my classmates like him. Even though he looks cold and uncaring. He's been nothing but nice to me." she thought as she smiled thoughtfully at Tezuka.

After a few moments he noticed her staring. "Is there something wrong?" he asked her direct to the point as always.

"Ie!!! daijobu daijobu!!!" she replied nervously, embarrassed at being caught staring. Tezuka just shrugged it off and sat down. Sakuno stood there still looking embarrassed wringing her hands together.

"Aren't you going to eat?" he asked.

She looked up at him a few seconds passed before his question sinked in. "Ah... Hai!" and then she sat down much to the amusement of Tezuka. They ate quietly not minding each other's presence much. After that Tezuka brought their plates to the sink preparing to wash them.

"Tezuka-senpai!!! I'll do the dishes for you. You cooked dinner it's the least I can do..." she said as she offered her help. He only nodded and left her to the dishes with a short explanation of where she would be putting the plates and utensils.

"We'll be leaving early tomorrow so get some rest." he told her before leaving. "Hai!!!" she replied smiling as she washed the dishes. "I wonder what he'll like for breakfast?" she asked to herself.

**Chapter 3- Sakuno cooks breakfast**

"Eto... Fried eggs check. Bacon, check. Orange juice, check. Toast, check! Yatta! I'm done!!!" she cheered happily for herself. She woke up very early just to make breakfast, although the main reason she woke up early was because she wasn't used to her bed. So it resulted in taking a bath at 5:30 in the morning and making breakfast by 6 o'clock.

She had her hair down for once because it would be bad to braid them while wet. "I wonder if Tezuka-senpai's awake..." she wondered debating rather she should go see. She finally decided to go to and see if her senpai was awake.

Tezuka woke up at around 6 sighing, he was forgetting something he knew it. Unfortunately he couldn't remember what it was. He took off his shirt and went to get his uniform, preparing to take a bath. He was on the way to his bathroom until he heard a knock on the door. "Tezuka-senpai..." a soft voice was heard. Tezuka's eyes slightly widened remembering what he was forgetting. "Ryuzaki was staying at his place..."

"What is it Ryuzaki?" he asked wondering what the young girl would want this early.

"Breakfast is ready..." her soft voice came again. He vaguely wondered if her voice was that soft all the time.

"Alright. I'll be down in 10 minutes." he answered her listening as her soft footsteps slowly disappeared. He sighed again and walked into the bath.

* * *

"Ryuzaki?" Tezuka entered the kitchen looking for a certain pigtailed girl.

"Tezuka-senpai!!!" she greeted him with a smile standing by the table holding a glass of juice. "I made breakfast!" she said shyly looking at her feet. He only nodded before sitting down.

Sakuno looked on as Tezuka tasted the food she made, slightly nervous as to how he found it. Tezuka noticed her looking at him nervously.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Eto… Is it good?" she strung her hands together looking sheepish. He nodded at her slightly amused at the happy expression on her face after he commented her food.

* * *

"I'll meet you in front of the gates at 5:00." He informed her as they neared the school. They looked like a weird couple, even thought Sakuno walked 2 steps behind Tezuka it still looked like they were walking together. Everyone was looking at them in shock and surprise one thought passing through their minds.

**"WHAT IS SAKUNO RYUZAKI DOING WITH TEZUKA A.K.A. TENNIS CAPTAIN OF SEIGAKU!?!!?!?!?!?"**

"Tezuka-senpai… Everyone is staring at us…" she whispered to the man beside her. "Don't mind them." Tezuka told her, or more like advised her. "H-hai…" she replied softly.

"SAKUNO!!!!" a loud voice was heard.

Sakuno turned around dreading what was to come. "Hai?" she answered, her voice slightly uneasy.

A young brunette walked up to her. Her name was Tomoka, current best friend of Sakuno and president of the Ryoma Echizen fan club!

"Why didn't you tell me!?!?!" Tomoka shouted irritably at her friend.

"Tomoka-chan! Calm down!" she tried to calm her friend. "It wasn't that I didn't want to tell you! It's just that I wasn't allowed to use the phone!" she reasoned out.

Tomoka calmed down for a bit before a shocked expression sinked in. "You weren't allowed to use the phone?!" she whispered in shock.

Sakuno nodded sadly. "Tezuka-senpai is a bit strict you see. You should have heard all the rules he expected me to follow."

Tomoka tilted her head to the side curiously. "What rules?" she asked.

Sakuno sighed inwardly the proceeded to tell her friend everything that happened the night before.

After several moments Tomoka was looking at Sakuno in shock and admiration. "You didn't complain or even reason out?" she asked.

Sakuno shook her head no looking at her feet in embarrassment.

"It's ok Sakuno! Look at the bright side!!!" Tomoko started, catching Sakuno's attention. "You're living with the most_ handsome _guy in school!" she said putting special emphasis on the word handsome.

Sakuno fell down anime style with a huge sweat drop on her forehead. "Tomoko-chan!!! He's way older than me!" she informed her over excited friend.

"But that makes it all the more romantic don't you think?" Tomoko squealed excitedly, already thinking of the possibilities.

Sakuno looked at her friend smiling amusedly at her antics. "Oh Tomoko…You're thinking too much into this!" she told her friend.

"Sakuno!!! You should take this opportunity to get to know him!" she suggested seriously before getting stars in her eyes "Then once that happens you'll fall deeply in love with each other!!!" Tomoko squealed once more.

"Me? Fall in love with Tezuka-senpai?" an image of the cold captain flashed in Sakuno's mind before she laughed.

"Yeah right."

tennis practice

"Tezuka-senpai." Ryoma greeted Tezuka as he walked in the court. Tezuka nodded at him. "A man of few words as always." Ryoma smirked inwardly. Everyone was working hard for the Kantou regionals. If they become the champion they'll be able to enter the nationals.

"Oishi!!!" Kikumaru Eiji, Seigaku's ball of energy, shouted as the vice-captain of the tennis club entered the field. Oishi smiled at his over excited partner and greeted him good morning.

"II data…" a tall man with glasses murmured holding a small green notebook and pen in his hands. Inui, Seigaku's strategist and data tennis player was collecting data as always. "Add ten more laps to your training Kaidoh. We need more stamina for the next match." He told the man beside him.

"Fsshh…" Kaidoh hissed as he nodded assenting to Inui's decision. He was a man of great stamina and determination. He was famous for his snake shot and snake boomerang.

"Alright!!! Burning!!! Come on baby!!!" Taka shouted with enthusiasm as Fuji was about to serve the ball. Taka Kawamura was the son of the man who owned the popular sushi shop. He is kind and shy but when he holds a tennis racket he becomes an entirely different person.

Fuji Syusuke on the other hand was an entirely different story. He was always cool and composed and occasionally tortures his team mates. He hides everything behind his smile and was probably the scariest person on the team because of it.

"Ready Taka-san?" Fuji smiled mysteriously before serving the ball. It went directly to Taka so it was supposed to be an easy hit but the ball suddenly disappeared before he could return it.

"Disappearing serve…" Ryoma murmured under his breath. Fuji was a tennis prodigy just like Tezuka and himself. He was really a force to be reckoned with.


	2. Senpaitachi gets suspicious!

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis!!! 

Chapter 4- Senpai-tachi gets suspicious!!! 

It was already 4:50 in the afternoon when the tennis team finally finished their tough training. Thankfully, they managed to survive with only a few casualties.

Eiji Kikumaru sighed thankfully as he changed into his school clothes. The practice was brutal and there was also the fact that Inui concocted a new sports drink/poison as their supposed power up drink. He never seen yellow liquid seemingly move on its own before, Oishi was one of the casualties and promptly fainted after drinking the juice. There were other casualties as well, Momo-chan, Kaidoh and Kawamura to name a few.

Fuji survived after drinking the foul smelling juice and was still looking ok. It was really freaky how Fuji and Tezuka could survive Inui's penal-tea. Eiji sighed looking around for any of his teammates that he could walk home with. "Ochibi!!! Momo!!!" he called after spotting the pair he immediately ran after them.

"Eiji-senpai!" Momo greeted back, grinning like an idiot. "Senpai." Ryoma nodded to Eiji with a bored look. "Are you going anywhere right now, nya?" he asked the two younger men. They both shook their head signaling that they weren't. "Alright! Then let's eat out!!!" Eiji exclaimed excitedly. Momo shouted happily agreeing with the idea immediately. He liked eating, even more so when someone else was paying. "I have to get home." Ryoma informed the two over-excited idiots in front of him.

"Aww!!! Ochibi!!! Don't be like that!!!" Eiji complained shouting something about his Ochibi not having time for him anymore. Ryoma used the glare of death on his overdramatic senpai stopping Eiji's tirade immediately. "Why do you need to be home this early anyway?" Momo asked his small friend. Ryoma only shrugged indicating he didn't know as Eiji wailed loudly. The trio walked over to the gate but not before Eiji stopped dead in his tracks. The other two stopped to look at him. "Oi!!! Is anything wrong Eji-senpai?" Momo asked the frozen acrobat while waving his hand in front of said acrobat's face. Both of the sighed wondering what could have possibly stunned the usually energetic senpai. They were clueless until they saw what Eiji was looking at.

The first thought that crossed their minds: "Oh, it's just Tezuka-senpai."

Then they saw a young girl running toward him. The girl looked oddly familiar… two long braids, pink clip, junior high uniform…

They're eyes widened in shock and one last thought crossed their minds…

"TEZUKA-SENPAI AND SAKUNO??!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!"

Then they fainted.

"Sumimasen, Tezuka-senpai! The teacher asked me to stay after so…" Sakuno said nervously staring at the floor, slightly scared of what Tezuka's reaction would be but the tennis prodigy only nodded at her impassively before turning to leave. Sakuno was left standing there staring after him mildly wondering of she should follow or not. Then she saw Tezuka stop in his tracks and turn to look at her. "Are you planning to stay there?" she heard him ask. Sakuno promptly snapped out of her reverie and shook her head, blushing all the while. She ran after him and fell into step beside him. She was relieved that he didn't scold her or anything after being late. She smiled thoughtfully before sighing. She didn't know why she was so worried about what the tennis captain would think of her. She seemed to worry about every little thing when he was around him. But she guessed it was only because she was going to live with the teen for a month and his opinion was important. Deep down though, she felt something amiss but as always she shrugged it off. She sighed once more and turned her attention to the road in front of her.

Tezuka watched the girl beside him from the corner of his eye amused at her sudden mood shifts. At first she was embarrassed, then thoughtful, and now happy. She provided good entertainment to say the least. As he could see, she had really changed over the years. He turned his gaze away from her and pondered on all the times he spent with her when she was still a child. She was a real klutz back then --

"Eep!" Sakuno cried out as she tripped over a small rock, flailing her arms wildly to keep her balance but to no avail.

-- And apparently she still was. Tezuka mused as he caught Sakuno before she hit the floor.

Sakuno had her eyes shut so she didn't see Tezuka save her or the position she was in with the said man. But as she opened her eyes she saw Tezuka leaning over her. "Are you alright?" he asked softly as he helped her stand up. Sakuno nodded shyly before letting Tezuka help her up. "You should be more careful." He told her, amused as Sakuno blushed ten time harder than ever before. He took it back. "She hasn't changed a bit." Tezuka corrected himself looking at the girl in front of him. "Let's go home. Can you walk?" he heard himself ask. Somehow, he couldn't stop worrying over the girl. But he shrugged it off thinking it was because Ryuzaki-sensei left her in his care. Sakuno nodded shyly once again before they resumed their walk home, together.

Author's note: Hey guys! Thanks to all of you who reviewed! I honestly didn't know if people would like this story especially because of the pairing… It's really nice to read that all of you liked it… Especially since it's my first time writing a story and I'm still 14 years old… anyway! I'll try my best to update every week! So stay tuned! Thank you!!! 


	3. the lunch

Standard Disclaimers apply! JJJJJ

Author's note: hey guys! One of you that reviewed gave me a great idea for the story! Thanks so much to that person! My plot bunny is alive!!! Anyway!!! Here's the next installment of my story! JJJJJ

To all who reviewed: Thanks! I'll try your suggestions! And I'm really 14.. Hahaha!

Why they don't have parents: In this story Tezuka only has his grandparents and Sakuno only has Ryuzaki-sensei who's her grandmother.

Why she left Sakuno with Tezuka: Cause she trusts him! Hahaha! And there would be no story if she didn't leave Sakuno with Tezuka…

The rules: Well, since I couldn't write every rule Tezuka made I decided to just put the first 10. I'll post all the rules as soon as I finish making it. Thanks!

Thoughts- italicized

The rest- normal

JJJJJ

Chapter 5- the lunch!

It's been officially 3 days since she first arrived at the Tezuka household, nothing crazy has happened as of yet and Sakuno was very glad for that. Tomoko-chan wanted to go to Tezuka's house to visit her and talk about things but unfortunately it was against the rules…number 25 or something…

Sakuno sighed exhausted. It has been a very busy morning. First of all, she woke up at exactly 7:00 am to cook breakfast. Then Tezuka gave her a list of chores to do. She started on all the chores immediately and now the house was officially spotless!

She grinned as she looked around the living room she had been working on for two hours. Tezuka was out picking up groceries so she was alone in the house. But being alone in the house gave her more time to think about things. After a few minutes she heard the door open.

"Tezuka-senpai?" Sakuno asked as she turned towards the door.

Tezuka entered the house, not minding Sakuno's presence at all, and walked into the kitchen in long strides. He casually put the two large bags of groceries on top of the counter and prepared to sort them out. Sakuno lightly smiled at her companion. After staying with him for a few days she realized that when Tezuka wasn't minding her he was probably in deep thought and shouldn't be disturbed, or else. Unfortunately she had to learn the hard way. She sighed as she remembered yesterday's events.

flashback

Sakuno sighed for the millionth time as she looked at the ingredients on the counter. She had only 40 minutes to cook and she doesn't even know what to prepare. It would have been a lot easier if she knew what kind of food Tezuka would have liked to eat. But regrettably, she didn't have any idea whatsoever.

"Mou… Doushiyo…" Sakuno moaned miserably holding her head in her hands.

"_Calm down Sakuno, you can do this." _Sakuno mentally said to herself, closing her eyes shut.

She should just probably ask Tezuka what he would want! Yeah! That's it! Sakuno's lips broke into a smile as she walked upstairs to Tezuka's room. She stopped dead in her tracks as she remembered the mood Tezuka was in earlier. He was very silent and seemed to be lost in thought. Maybe she shouldn't be doing this.

"Tezuka-senpai?" Sakuno called out uncertainly, wringing her hands together, an obvious sign of anxiety.

"_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…"_ she thought as she contemplated on her situation.

But she was already there, and she couldn't just leave after already calling the teen. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear or see the door in front of her open revealing a slightly aggravated Tezuka.

"Do you need something Ryuzaki?" she heard a deep male voice ask.

Sakuno looked up startled and then blushed. "Ano…" Sakuno began timidly. Tezuka looked down on the shy brunette with dark eyes slightly tinged with irritation.

"If it's nothing important then leave." He told her and promptly shut the door in her face. Sakuno's eyes widened before turning to leave.

"_Note to self: Leave Tezuka alone when he's in a bad mood." _she said to herself as she descended the stairs and walked to the kitchen.

end of flashback

Sakuno shivered lightly at the memory not noticing the teen that she was thinking about looking at her. Tezuka sorted out all the food into the refrigerator before finally stopping his train of thoughts. He turned around and saw the brunette he was taking care of at the moment looking in the pot she was using to cook and seemingly deep in thought. He forced down the smile that was inching its way on his face and called out to her.

"Ryuzaki, the food is burning." He informed her efficiently snapping her out of her trance and watched as she scurried around the kitchen crying over the dark brown colored food.

"Sumimasen Tezuka-senpai!" Sakuno bowed her head as she apologized over and over.

Even though she burned lunch didn't take away the fact that she looked absolutely adorable in her pink apron holding pieces of slightly burned fishes on a plate. Tezuka just shook his head and looked at Sakuno with an amused expression.

"It's fine, we can still eat it." Tezuka reassured the girl taking the plate from her hands and brought it to the counter. "Look carefully." He told her and Sakuno nodded at him looking at the plate in his hands. After that Tezuka started to cook with the fish and Sakuno only watched in amazement as the tennis captain served delicious meals all from her supposed cooking failure. She took a tentative bite out of the dish.

"This is delicious!" she exclaimed in utter amazement and proceeded to eat not seeing the half smile that flashed across the tennis captain's face.

Author: Hahaha! Another chapter done! Yay! I tried the suggestion… anyway! I hope u like it better this time! I know this isn't as great as the first chapters are though... Please bear with me.


	4. A really embarrassing experience!

Thanks for the reviews you guys!!!!!!! Here's another installment of the story!!! Beware of fluffyliciousness!!!

Chappy 6- A really embarrassing experience!!!

"Really?!" Tomoko squealed in excitement.

"T-tomo-chan… Calm down!!!" Sakuno sweatdropped, watching her over excited friend squeal like a fan girl after Sakuno told her what had happened. She sighed to herself. It wasn't anything to be happy about. To tell the truth it was very embarrasing.

And if you're wondering what happened… let me tell you…

Flashback

It was a normal weekend at the Tezuka household. Tezuka was feeding the fish in the fish pond while Sakuno cooked breakfast. Everything was peaceful and quiet, both of them enjoying the serenity in the atmosphere.

Sakuno hummed a random melody as she flipped the pancakes with ease. Everything was good so far. She hasn't tripped or done anything embarrasing as of yet. She smiled happily. "Tezuka-senpai!!! Breakfast is ready!" Sakuno called the young man as she put the pancakes on their plates.

Tezuka entered the house without a word and sat down to eat. They kind of look like a married couple if you looked at them from afar. There was one incident wherein they were actually mistaken as a couple. They were on their way home from grocery shopping when they encountered an old couple passing them by. Sakuno couldn't help but blush as she remembered what the old lady said:

"_What a cute couple!"_

They were both taken back by the couple's view and she could still remember the uncomfortable silence between her and Tezuka. Well, maybe she was just imagining it because it wasn't like Tezuka to be embarrassed or shy. She smiled again thinking to herself.

"You're not going to eat?" the tennis captain asked the day dreaming girl with hidden amusement.

"Oh! Sumimasen!" Sakuno apologized before sitting down and eating as well.

"_He probably thinks I'm weird or something." _She thought to herself with a slight frown.

"Ryuzaki, I'll be late later so you can go home ahead of me." Tezuka informed her placing a spare key in front of her.

"Hai!" she took the keys placing it in her wallet before she forgot. _"I wonder why he's going to be late later…" _she contemplated to herself as she stood up, placing her plates on the dish washer. But she couldn't just ask him, he might think she was interfering with his activities or something. Although, she knew Tezuka wasn't like that. Besides, she should know whether she should wait up for him or cook him dinner and things like that. So she asked him.

"Tezuka-senpai, should I leave you dinner for later? Or are you eating out?"

"_Ok, that sounded too much like a clingy wife." _She thought feeling rather amused and embarrassed at the same time.

"I'll be eating out." He informed her, stomping on his sudden urge to smile. He was rather… touched, by her sudden concern for him.

So all through out the day they did their normal duties at school. Tezuka was working the team 3 times harder than normal, while Sakuno created fabulous cakes and cookies in the Baking Club she recently joined.

Finally, it was time to go home, and as promised, Tezuka would not be joining her in their usual walk home. She took this time to think over her life at the Tezuka household. It was very nice, not how she expected it. She had thought that Tezuka and she would just ignore each other's presence since Tezuka wasn't really the social type. But he had made her feel very welcome in his home and that thought just warmed her inside. He was really a nice person if you look through the cold exterior all the time. Those brown locks and chocolate brown eyes that make you want to melt—

She shook her head, quite embarrassed. She was acting like a total fan girl. She went straight home, ignoring the temptation of thinking of a certain buchou. "What am I thinking… Get a grip Sakuno!!!" she told herself.

She arrived at the house at around 5:30, looking around the usually warm room. It seemed so empty without—she broke of her thoughts, sighing to herself. Tezuka has really been occupying her thoughts lately. It seemed as if every thought was connected to him in some way or another. Or maybe she was merely finding ways to connect it to him. She used to thinking this way a long time ago. This was exactly what happened when she had a crush on Ryoma—

Her eyes widened in shock. _"It can't be. I don't have a crush on senpai!!! That just can't be possible!!!" _she panicked. "_Ok. Calm down Sakuno." _She repeated in her mind. _"Breathe in, breathe out."_

"I'm just not thinking clearly." She tried to convince herself, directing her attention on something else. She went up to her room and started on her homework.

It was already 6:30 pm when she finished studying, and that gave her 30 minutes to prepare dinner for herself. _"I wonder what I should cook…" _she asked herself as she walked down the stairs happily. Her earlier problem seemingly forgotten. She smiled as she prepared the ingredients. If there was anything that made her happy it was cooking.

Meanwhile…

"Tezuka, come on already!!! Why were you with Ryuzaki-chan?" Eiji the always hyper senpai asked their buchou. Truthfully they all wanted to know why, but they would rather keep their lives. But of course Eiji-senpai was different, once his curiosity was caught there was to stopping it.

"Are you dating her?" Eiji asked the silent buchou. You really got to give Eiji credit for having the guts to ask that question with the risk of running 200 laps.

"No." Tezuka answered his teammates annoying questions. He felt the urge make him run laps but refrained from doing so.

"_Tezuka-senpai, you shouldn't make them run laps outside of school! That would just be embarrasing!" _the reprimanding voice of a young girl echoing through his mind.

All of the Seigaku members looked on at their captain in shock. _"He didn't make Eiji run laps…" _all of them thought.

Tezuka noticed their staring and looked at them blankly. "What?" he asked, a bit irritated.

They all shook their heads to signal nothing and just kept in staring at him in shock.

Tezuka sighed quietly to himself vaguely wondering if his charge has eaten yet. He noticed she was a bit worn-out these days. Probably from the cooking competition that was coming, he could remember her anxious face when the teacher picked her to represent the school in the national competition. She may not excel in tennis but she was a great pastry chef.

"Tezuka, you seem lost in thought." Fuji told his captain who was staring out the window, which he has never done before.

Tezuka pulled out of his train of thoughts to face the tennis prodigy. "Just thinking of something." He replied softly before eating.

Ok. This was weird. If anyone asked about Tezuka's wellbeing they were usually ignored by the man himself. But now, Tezuka actually answered their question. What was happening to their buchou? The change probably wasn't noticed by others but it really grabbed the attention of the Seigaku members. Tezuka seemed… dare they say it? Nice…

"II data…" Inui whispered to himself taking down notes on everything that was happening in a fast pace.

After that eventful evening everyone decided to go home. Well, Tezuka decided to go home. The others decided to follow him.

"If we get caught we're going to get killed!" Momo tried to reason out to his senpais. But they wouldn't budge from their position. They really wanted to figure out what caused the sudden change in their usually cold captain.

"This is important data…" Inui murmured as he held his ever present notebook.

"Inui's right!!! For the sake of the team we should figure out why our captain is behaving this way!!" Eiji exclaimed passionately.

Everyone sweat dropped. _"Yeah right…"_ they thought.

"At any rate, we do have to know what's causing his recent actions." Oishi told his team. Everyone nodded at the so called "mother" of the team.

"You're all so annoying." Ryoma rolled his eyes. "What he does is none of our business."

"Ochibi! How could you say that!!!?" Eiji shouted in astonishment.

Ryoma just shrugged. "Whatever…"

Everyone became silent after that and followed Tezuka, well, except for Ryoma who was being dragged along.

Tezuka entered the house, taking his time to look at the dark house before seeing a light in the kitchen. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Sakuno was supposed to be asleep hours ago. He silently made his way into the kitchen to see Sakuno sitting on a chair her head resting in her hands in a head down position, obviously she was sound asleep. His heart felt warm as he thought that she probably waited for him to get home, and with a smile he gently took the girl into his arms intending to bring her directly to her bed when he heard the sound of something falling outside. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the girl in his arms.

"Sakuno! Sakuno." he gently called to her waiting for her to wake up, but she only murmured a few words before burying her face in his chest. If he was any regular person he would've blushed, but this was Tezuka we're talking about, he's always in complete control of his feelings.

He shook her shoulder lightly. "Sakuno, wake up."

Whoever was trying to wake her up was very persistent. Her eyes fluttered open, her senses coming back to her. After a few moments her sight had been fully restored and then she noticed that she was 4 feet in the air and in the arms of a handsome brunette.

"Tezuka-senpai!!!" she exclaimed in surprised as he put her down. She blushed as she met the chocolate eyes of her housemate. Was it her or did she see a hint of amusement hidden in those eyes? Worried that she may get lost in those dark pools, she hastily tore her gaze away settling her uneasy eyes on the wall behind him.

"Sakuno." He called her again, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She turned her gaze to him, albeit timidly. "Hai?" she asked.

"There's someone outside the house. I want you to stay here." He informed her walking towards the front door. He placed his hand on it and slowly turned it, and when he finally opened it he came across his teammates sitting in front of the window looking in.

He sighed quietly to himself. He knew they'd follow him home one of these days, they were too curious for their own good. "Ahem." He cleared his throat catching the attention of his stalkers.

"What are you all doing here? I didn't think my house was a home for the homeless." came Tezuka's cold drawl.

Every single Seigaku regular turned their heads to the source of that very familiar voice. Seeing Tezuka standing there with a blank look on his face sent chills down their spine.

"Who are you calling homeless!?!" they shouted in unison.

Tezuka merely raised an eyebrow at them. "You of course." He enlightened them.

"Tezuka-senpai!!! Daijobu?" came a female voice from inside the house. Everyone turned to look as their coach's grand daughter stepped outside of their buchou's house in her sleeping ware.

All of their jaws dropped in shock.

"SAKUNO?!!"

End of flashback

And that's what happened. Sakuno sighed inwardly; it took about two hours for them to inform the whole Seigaku team on why she was living with Tezuka, and that wasn't counting the time used when Eiji and Momo fainted when they saw her step out of the house. After everything they promised to not say a word of her living with their buchou, mainly due to Tezuka's threatening remarks from time to time.

She smiled as she remembered how gently he carried her… and how good he smelled. His soft voice calling her… she sighed wistfully.

Tomoko raised an eyebrow at her friend's strange actions. And then she realized the most probable cause of Sakuno's wistful looks. "She's in love!!!" she squealed to herself, perfectly happy that her friend has found love at last. Now all she needs to do is to figure out who the lucky guy is and then she can match make them! She grinned joyfully; she was such a good friend!

A/N: uh oh… Tomoko's up to something… I wonder what it is… hmmm…

Please review!!! Thankiez!!! 


	5. The Plan

Hahahaha! Thanks for the reviews once more!!! I'm happy to know you liked the last chapter!!! Well, this is the next installment! Beware of super duper fluffyliciousness!!!

Special thanks to: sesshomaruobsessed, for giving me advice and inspiration for the next chapter!!!

Chapter 7- The Plan

"_This is going to be absolutely delicious…" _Tomoko grinned maniacally to herself as she watched Sakuno prepare to leave the school. All she had to do was to attain Sakuno's pity and she'd be all set!!!

"_Ok! 'Operation: Sakuno' has officially started!" _she cheered herself for the brilliant yet slightly evil plan she concocted. This was going to be a piece of cake! She smiled inwardly as she walked over to where her oblivious friend stood. "Sakuno-chan…" she started, placing a very sad expression on her face.

"Tomo-chan? Daijobu?" came Sakuno's worried reply. She had never seen her friend in such a state before.

Tomoko looked at her friend pleadingly, she did feel kind of bad for tricking her like this but she had no other choice! "It's horrible Sakuno-chan!" she exclaimed unhappily.

Sakuno tilted her head to the side trying to figure out the root of her friend's distress. "What's wrong?" she asked once more.

"My mother set me up to go out with a member of the Rikkai Dai team!!!" Tomoko burst out, preparing herself to cry.

"Oh Tomo-chan… they're not that bad." Sakuno tried to comfort her friend.

"Sakuno-chan!!! How could you say that!!! If they saw me with a Rikkai Dai student they'd brand me as a betrayer!!!" Tomoko exclaimed in fake hysteria. _"Come on Sakuno… fall for it already!!!" _she screamed in her mind.

"Do you want me to go with you? I'm planning to go there as well anyway! It can be a casual group thing." Sakuno smiled as her friend's spirit lifted significantly, she really didn't know what to do to comfort her friend. Anyway, she was planning to go to Rikkai Dai because of the cake Yukimura requested from her.

"Really?" Tomoko asked the girl beside her, she grinned inwardly. "Thank you Sakuno!!! The outing will be on Saturday after lunch and we'll meet them at the mall!" she hugged her friend.

Sakuno only sweatdropped and hugged her friend back, totally unaware of the scheme that was just waiting to be hatched.

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Tomoko whistled a happy tune as she headed back to her house, everything was going according to plan, and now all she needed was a date! Entering her house, she removed her shoes and went straight to her room. Picking up her pink phone she pondered on what member on the Rikkai Dai team would be willing to help her with her plan.

Sighing to herself, she picked the only person on the team she did know. She dialed the number with slight nervousness and waited for the person on the other line to answer.

"Hello? Kirihara-san!!!" Tomoko greeted happily. "Are you busy this Saturday?" she asked directly.

Kirihara looked at the receiver in shock mingling with amusement. "Straight to the point as always aren't you?" he teased the teen.

Tomoko rolled her eyes in disdain. She would never ask a Rikkai Dai member on a date much less Kirihara-senpai, but desperate means call for desperate measures. "Whatever, so are you free or what?" she asked again, strained annoyance lacing her tone.

"Sure." Kirihara nodded his assent. "Why did you suddenly ask anyway?"

"Well…" Tomoko asked herself whether telling the plan to Kirihara would be okay. The man can't keep his mouth shut, or so they say. She shrugged, she'll just have to take a chance at this, and she needed someone to help her with this plan. Content with her decision she proceeded to tell her ingenious plan to her soon-to-be associate.

"_I just hope I didn't make the wrong decision…"_ Tomoko grimaced. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

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Sakuno sighed as she tried to get a grip on herself. She was just going to ask Tezuka for permission on Saturday, no big deal… right?

She frowned inwardly as she stood up and walked towards the buchou who was currently entering the house fresh from practice. Her hands coiled tightly at her sides as she drew her determined gaze on his handsome face_. "Wait… did I just think he was handsome?" _she thought with wide eyes_. "Snap out of it Sakuno! Focus!"_ she reprimanded herself.

Tezuka watched the emotions play on his charge's face with light interest. Finally noticing that her internal battle was subsiding he took this chance to look at her in the eyes and ask her what she needed.

"Huh?" she looked at him dumbly before realizing that she was too drawn in her thoughts to notice Tezuka's expectant gaze on her. "Oh! Sumimasen! I just…" Sakuno trailed off shyly gripping the hem of her school skirt in a death grip feeling that all the courage she gathered fade away under his calm gaze. "Eto…" she started, deciding to just ask him directly rather than going around the bush. "Can I go out with Tomoko on Saturday?" she asked her voice soft and pleading as she stared at the floor waiting for the buchou's reply.

"Sure."

Her head snapped up at his reply an indignant reply already half passed her lips until she realized that he actually ALLOWED her to go.

"Hontou?" Sakuno asked to make sure, her eyes lighting up with pure unrelented joy.

Tezuka nodded, mildly amused at her reaction. "Oishi and the rest wanted to go out." He explained.

Whoa! He actually explained! Tezuka never explains his actions so this was a first.

"Huh?" Sakuno asked, her eyes widening, he couldn't mean that…

"We can all go. Is that alright?" he asked, looking at her as if daring her to say it wasn't.

"Uhm… it's alright." Sakuno agreed, she already got him to agree, she didn't want to push her luck. It was already decided, so what can she do?

XXXXXXXXXX

"What?!?! The whole Seigaku team is coming?!!" Tomoko repeated her friend's words in shock.

"It'll be alright; you wanted it to look like a group thing right? Having lots of people with us will help!" Sakuno said looking at the bright side as always, not knowing that her news was probably ruining Tomoko's careful plan.

Tomoko sighed as she looked at her smiling friend. _"It'll have to do."_ She thought inwardly. _"What will I do now?!.." _

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A/N: sorry for not updating.. I was busy finishing my requirements and with the exams… but I'll update regularly again! Please review!


	6. Just a small incident!

Sorry I only updated now… I've been wondering what to do with this chapter for so long and only had the guts to post this now… I'm still making the date chapter… and I was supposed to post that before this but it was taking so long and I decided to post this chapter! Anyway… enjoy!

Chapter 8- Just a small incident!

It was Friday afternoon when Sakuno arrived at the house with Tezuka. She quietly took off her shoes and went upstairs into her room, leaning on the door she wondered what possessed her to agree going out on Saturday. Not only was she going with some members of Rikkai Dai but the Seigaku team as well! And to top it all off, her housemate didn't know that Kirihara and Yukimura we're going.

She opened her closet eyeing each piece of clothing critically. She was faced with her biggest problem yet. She didn't have anything to wear! Well, that was a little over the top since she had clothes, the problem was that she didn't know what to wear.

"_Well, nothing will happen if I just stand here and look." _Sakuno thought and she pulled out some pieces from her wardrobe.

After a few moments Sakuno turned to look at the clothes she had chosen… which were piled up on the bed forming a large mountain. She groaned dismally. She really couldn't make up her mind about this. Sheesh, why was she putting so much effort anyway? It's not like she had anyone to impress. Tezuka's face flashed, unbidden, in her mind.

The helpless girl blushed at the sudden thought of the Seigaku captain. _"Sakuno! Get your mind out of the clouds!" _she mentally hit herself on the head.

Why would she want to impress Tezuka-senpai? Sure, she had a small tiny crush on him. Yes, she finally admitted it to herself after catching herself eyeing the teen more times than she could count during tennis practice. But that was it right? A silly crush that would probably disappear over time like her crush on Ryoma… Ok, so that's not exactly example, since her crush on the prince of tennis lasted over a year.

Sakuno looked at the square shaped clock on her wall and read the time.

"6:18…"

She stood up and headed to the door. "It's time to cook dinner!" Sakuno smiled. Even though she didn't know what to wear at least cooking could keep her mind of things!

XXXXXXXXXX

"Mmm…mmhhmm…" Sakuno hummed as she fried the tempura. Most of the time she didn't get to cook this way since her grandmother always told her that she might get burned or something like that. She smiled to herself; as long as she didn't lose her focus there was nothing to worry about! She slowly picked up a piece of tempura preparing to put into the boiling oil.

"Ryuzaki."

"Eep!" Sakuno cried as she jumped and in turn letting go of the tempura which of course resulted in oil splashing and unintentionally burning the soft skin of her finger. "Ittai!" she fanned her hand trying to ease the pain.

Tezuka's eyes widened at the display in front of him. He immediately went over to Sakuno and carried her injured hand in his. He pulled it closer and put the hurt finger in his mouth.

Sakuno flushed a bright red as she watched the tennis genius put her finger in his mouth, her shock overwhelming the pain. She watched, captivated, as the tennis prodigy gently pulled the finger out of his mouth. "Does it still hurt?" she heard him ask her. She looked up into his chocolate brown eyes which held a hint of concern. "H-hai! It's fine now! Arigatou!" Sakuno stuttered as she struggled to get her blush under control.

Tezuka pulled away from her and gently led her to the faucet putting her hand under the cool rush of water. "I'm sorry."

Sakuno's eyes widened at the sudden apology. "What for?" she asked as she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

The older teen focused on the hand he was holding, "I shouldn't have called you like that without warning." He replied softly.

Sakuno smiled at him. "Daijobu! It's not like you meant to surprise me." She quickly assured the buchou, ignoring the warm feeling that swept through her. "I'll just put some medicine. It'll be ok by tomorrow!"

Tezuka eyed the small girl beside him. She was trying to comfort him? After she had gotten hurt? He pushed away the urge to chuckle. She was really different. He looked at the sheepish smile on her face and nodded.

They looked into each other's eyes not noticing the time that passed. Neither noticed that they were still holding hands or that the tempura was burning and smoke was slowly clouding the kitchen… all they were aware of was that their faces were inching closer and closer until…

"Beep!" the fire alarm sounded breaking off their trance. Both jumped away from eachother, both thinking of what just happened, or rather, nearly happened.

Tezuka cleared his throat and calmly walked to the stove, turning off the stove, while Sakuno tuned off the faucet and tried her best to stop blushing and push the image of Tezuka's face inches from hers off her mind.

Her eyes widened as she remembered what she was cooking.

"The tempura!!!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Sakuno dried her hair with a fluffy white towel as she thought over the events that happened in the kitchen. She kept going back on that moment near the faucet…

She shook her head and blushed with embarrassment. He wasn't thinking of kissing her was he? No, of course not! Tezuka would never do that in a million years! And yet here she was, wondering.

"_Tezuka-senpai isn't attracted to me… is he?" _she thought as she nervously played with her fingers. She sighed and fell on her soft bed. She looked up at the ceiling and tentatively brushed her fingers on her lips. He wouldn't have kissed her… and yet here she was… thinking of how it would've felt… if Tezuka had kissed her…

XXXXXXXXXX

Tezuka slammed his fist on the wall, his dark eyes shining with fury. What had he been thinking?! Trying to kiss a girl younger than him, and Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter no less! He sighed and grasped the sides of the wooden table trying to quell his disgust with himself. Sakuno was probably angry at him now. He looked up towards the ceiling trying to figure out how he was supposed to act around the young girl.

"_It'd be best if I kept my distance from her." _He thought inwardly as she stepped away from his study table and lie on his bed covered with dark blue sheets. He glanced around his room and his eyes landed on a familiar stuffed toy. It was a bit dusty but he could still recognize it. It was the bear Sakuno had given him almost 5 years ago. Sakuno's smiling face passed through his mind. His eyes softened at the sight of the small brown bear, the least he could do was apologize to her. And with that resolve in mind he drifted of into a dreamless sleep.

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Hey guys… I finally updated! Hahaha! Please review!!!


	7. Apologies

Sorry for the late update!!! I was in Baguio and they didn't have any computers in the house… not to mention that I couldn't go to the internet café without arousing any suspicion. Anyway, this is the start of the day the date was supposed to take place! Please be patient with me… And if anyone could beta read for me it would be really great!!!! Please read and enjoy!

And Tezuka's a senior so he's 16 years old… and there's a 2 year distance between them making Sakuno a junior and 14! Hahaha!

Chapter 9- Apologies

Sakuno paced the floor of her room in worry; she woke up unnaturally early today, and with good reason. She sighed inwardly. No sleep came to her the night before. Normally whatever was bothering her would just disappear during the night but not this one.

"Doushiyo…" she murmured pathetically, clutching her head as she stopped her pacing. There was no possible way she can face Tezuka at this rate! The brunette looked up at the clock hanging innocently on her wall.

"6 am…" she read thoughtfully. She had already gotten a habit of waking up around this time and making breakfast around 6:30 and leaving for school at 7:00 sharp with Tezuka. How could she possibly do that now after the embarrasing moment that took place last night?

She just thanked God it was Saturday today so she could avoid any mishaps and delay the inevitable, even for a short while. Sakuno lay down on the bed, closing her light brown eyes. The young girl laid there relaxing before shooting up from the bed in shock.

"I promised Tomoko to go with her to the mall today…" she whispered in remembrance, her eyes widening. And that meant… she was going to have to spend an entire day with Tezuka.

"Kami-sama…"

There goes her plan of avoiding him for the day.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tezuka sat on his bed looking at the wall before him. He had been doing this for the past 10 minutes trying to think of a way to apologize to his charge that was two rooms from where he was right now.

The tennis captain had no experience in this kind of situations whatsoever. He avoided females like a plague in his first years at high school and then simply had no time for them when he joined the tennis club.

But the thing was that bothered him the most was that:

Sakuno was different from other girls he had encountered. She was shy, soft spoken and polite. She defended her friends with a passion and could ease your mind with just a smile. She also loved to cook for people she loved especially her grandmother.

He let an amused smile pass through his features as he remembered Sakuno's earlier attempts to cook, under his supervision of course. Unfortunately, it had also meant he was her guinea pig for all of her concoctions.

Contrary to popular belief, Sakuno was not born with superb cooking abilities. She had worked very hard to create the delicious dishes she serves today.

All in all she was a very sweet girl, prone to accidents (meaning getting lost) but a sweet girl nonetheless.

There was a soft warmth around her that drew people to her, even tennis obsessed teenagers like the Seigaku regulars.

"_She's also very beautiful…"_

Tezuka's eyes widened perceptibly at the thought that just crossed his mind. Sakuno was a friend, a confidant, a cute little sister at most. He had never thought of her as a possible girlfriend.

Sakuno's smiling face passed through his mind once again like the night before. He shook his head removing those thoughts from his head. He was just confusing himself. He needed to focus on the problem in front of him; he can deal with those thoughts later. Running a tired hand through his soft brown locks he stood up and decided to prepare for the day ahead.

XXXXXXXXXX

6:45 am.

Sakuno was on the verge on a mental breakdown, ok, so it wasn't that bad. She just had a bad case of nerves.

"_15 minutes till my death." _She thought despairingly.

God, what was wrong with her. It was just Tezuka, last night was a mistake. They were probably affected by the smoke or something.

With that thought in mind she straightened herself out and proceeded to walk to the door.

"_I can do this."_ She repeated to herself, bracing her hand on the door knob.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tezuka stood before Sakuno's door, hand raising to knock but was caught by surprise as the door was suddenly pushed open causing him to loose footing and land on the floor. He blinked several times before realizing he was indeed sitting on the floor with Sakuno looming over him like a mother hen asking if he was okay.

Sakuno looked on in dismay as Tezuka was sent sprawling on the floor. "Tezuka-senpai!" she called out worriedly, sitting beside him and checking Tezuka for any injury.

"_The whole school will kill me for injuring him!" _she thought, wincing at the images that popped into her head.

And then without any warning or reason whatsoever, the Seigaku tennis captain started laughing.

Scared out of her mind, Sakuno placed her hands on the sides of his face. "Tezuka-senpai?" she asked, starting to panic.

Finally fighting down his sudden burst of humor, he looked into Sakuno's worried gaze. "I'm fine, Ryuzaki." Tezuka reassured her, a half smile on his face.

Sakuno was one of the persons who had could ever make Tezuka laugh or smile that was certain.

The young brunette sighed in relief pulling away her hands. "I thought you had been injured and became insane." She joked.

"Insane?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"You started laughing!" Sakuno protested feebly, making weird motions with her hands.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, for both last night and scaring her.

Sakuno looked at him at surprise before beaming at him widely. "Don't worry about it!"

Tezuka nodded, feeling his entire being warm from her sweet smile. "Why don't we eat breakfast out." He suggested out of the blue, standing up on his feet while brushing off the dirt in his white long sleeved shirt and blue jeans.

"Eh?" she squeaked in surprise before falling silent. "Why?"

He just shrugged. "Cooking all the time is tiring." He said before walking downstairs.

Normally, one would just take his words as it was but Sakuno was different. She knew Tezuka long enough to know of there was another deeper meaning in his words.

"_Cooking all the time is tiring." _She repeated in her mind, her smile widened at the real meaning. Tezuka was trying to give her a break from cooking breakfast all the time because she thought she was getting tired!

Her heart warmed at the buchou's thoughtfulness. Smiling easily to herself she raced down to the living room to see Tezuka waiting for her with her jacket.

She smiled at him thankfully before putting on her jacket and walking toward the door with Tezuka.

She had no worries since Tomoko's get together was still 3 hours away which gave them a lot of time to get breakfast and get ready.

"_This day won't be so bad after all." _She thought brightly, walking side by side by Seigaku's tennis captain.

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REVIEW PLEASE!


	8. Sweet Breakfast

**Author's note: I'm just gonna correct a mistake I made in the last author's note! Sakuno is a sophomore not a junior.**

**Major thanks to my beta for this chapter:** **EvilFaerie17**

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Chapter 10- Sweet Breakfast

The walk to the café that was two blocks away could only be described as silent and uneventful, but fortunately this mood suited the couple just fine. The hustle and bustle of the street kept them distracted as they walked along the sidewalk.

Sakuno glanced at the senior beside her with awe as he took long strides with seemingly careless ease in contrast to her short, meek steps. To be honest, she was surprised that she could actually keep up with his brisk pace. The pig-tailed brunette carefully studied the tennis captain and realized that he was actually walking slower than usual; probably to make sure she didn't fall behind. "That is really nice of him," she thought with a light blush, she looked away from him and tried to focus on her surroundings.

The young girl smiled briefly as she walked past the old flame haired woman who was standing in a flower shop waving at her and Tezuka. Seeing as Tezuka hadn't noticed the woman as of yet she took it upon herself to pat the buchou briefly on the shoulder and tilted her head at the waving red head when he shot Sakuno a questioning look.

Tezuka inclined his head in her direction earning a beaming smile from the old lady. He let his memories take over him as he remembered the times when he and Sakuno visited the funny flower vendor.

Even though the woman seemed to be in her late sixties she still seemed to have a sense of humor and told a lot of interesting stories to him and Sakuno when the shy girl was about five years old. It was a pity they hadn't had the time to visit her as much now as they had back then.

"We should visit her again soon." Sakuno piped up, turning her gaze towards the handsome teen beside her.

Tezuka nodded briefly, meeting her eyes before turning his gaze back to the well-worn path before him. "We should."

Sakuno beamed at him, happy that Tezuka had agreed so willingly.

The tennis buchou turned to her as they stopped before a small, quaint café. He turned to the brunette beside him and asked if she was comfortable eating there for breakfast.

Sakuno agreed heartily and reached for the handle before blinking in surprise when Tezuka opened the door for her and gestured for her to enter first.

Struck with his sudden show of gentlemanliness, she mumbled a small "thank you," and waited as a waitress walked toward them and showed them to a table for two in the corner of the cozy café. She mentally berated herself for acting so surprised; Tezuka had always been a gentleman, he was raised that way. She ignored the erratic beating of her heart and sat down in front of the handsome boy.

"Tezuka, it's been a long time since you've been here! What would you like to order?" the peppy waitress asked them, effectively capturing Sakuno's wandering attention. The waitress had shoulder length black hair and mischievous green eyes. According to her ID badge, her name was Yuri.

"Bacon and eggs, and some orange juice." Tezuka immediately replied, not even looking at the menu. It was obvious he had eaten here before if the waitress's obvious familiarity with him was anything to go by, and the fact that he hadn't needed to look at the menu.

"What about your young lady friend?" she asked, sending a wink to Tezuka. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Sakuno blushed to the roots of her hair and emitted a soft, "eh?" at the bold statement.

"She's not." The tennis captain cut in sharply, sending the waitress a look.

"Whatever you say Tezuka!" Yuri said in a sing-song voice as she giggled slightly.

The dark-haired teen just rolled his eyes and gave a soft sigh.

"I'll have some pancakes and some hot chocolate." Sakuno requested, breaking the awkward silence that surrounded the group.

Yuri nodded her head, writing the order in her small ordering pad. "You have good taste in drinks." she grinned. "Your order will be here in five minutes, tops." She stated, back to her professional self, and winked at them before turning and greeting the next group of customers who had entered.

A strained atmosphere covered Sakuno and Tezuka as they looked around at their surroundings, immediately looking away when their eyes happened to meet.

"They seem to know you here." Sakuno commented softly as a waiter brought them their drinks.

"I always used to eat here during mornings on weekends." He enlightened her, watching, as she tasted her chocolate drink.

"Oh, I see." she nodded, swishing the drink in its Styrofoam cup in front of her absently.

"Ryuzaki, it will spill if you keep moving it like that." He rebuked amusedly, watching as she swirled her drink.

"Eh?" she blinked, stopping her hand in mid-swing causing some chocolate to spill on her hand. She put the glass down on the table hurriedly and waved her hand frantically to stop the burn.

Restraining himself from laughing, Tezuka reached for a napkin and gently dabbed the drink off his charge's hand. "You really have a knack for getting burned."

Blushing, the doe-eyed girl kept her gaze away from the buchou's mirth filled chocolate one. "It seems I do." She joked along with him, earning her a soft chuckle. "You have a nice laugh." She said thoughtfully, before closing her mouth and turning a color that can only be described as beet red.

Carefully pulling away the tissue paper soaked in chocolate, he hid his surprise at her spontaneous statement, but it was not entirely unpleasant. He was rather flattered she thought that his laugh was nice but kept it to himself, lest he embarrass the poor girl even further. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a smug voice that belonged to none other than their waitress.

"Tezuka, I thought she wasn't your girlfriend!" Yuri cried mock angrily, hands on her hips.

"She isn't." he said indifferently, failing to see why the waitress would even think that.

"Then why are you still holding her hand like that?" she drawled, finding immense pleasure at his surprise.

Tezuka looked at his and Sakuno's clasped hands then turned to Yuri. "She spilled hot chocolate on her hand." he said, effectively erasing Yuri's smirk from her face.

"Humph. Fine! You win this round Tezuka!" she backed down. "But I'll be back!" she waved dramatically, cackling as she put the food on the tray she was carrying onto the table before leaving.

The Seigaku senior just waved her threat off and pulled his hand away from Sakuno's. "Is your hand alright now?"

The shy brunette nodded meekly, and took her hand back. "Thank you."

The edge of the Tezuka's lips quirked up slightly at her actions before proceeding to eat his food. The spoon was half way to his mouth when a loud shout interrupted them.

Both teens turned to the source of the voice and saw Tomoko waving at them madly, Kirihara and Yukimura standing behind her.

"_Oh no…I forgot to tell Tezuka about them…" _Sakuno panicked. Taking a chance, she glanced at the Seigaku captain.

"Why are they here?"

She knew that even though Tezuka's indifferent gaze was on the Rikkai Dai members the question was addressed to her.

"Eto…Tomoko invited them as well." She explained hurriedly, staring at the edge of her skirt, unwilling to look up at the dark haired senior.

XXXXXXXXXX

There! Read and review people!


	9. Reading into it

Hontou ni Sumimasen about the late update. I've been in the states for a while and when I got back I realized classes in my school were already starting… plus I was 2 weeks late so I had a lot to catch up on. Sumimasen! I hope this long chapter will be worth the wait!

Thanks to my beta reader: **EvilFaerie17 **for reading this chapter for me! 

**Chapter 11- Reading into it.**

Sakuno kept her head bowed low as Tezuka looked on to the Rikkai Dai members with her best friend. She really hadn't realized that she had forgotten to tell the tennis captain about them. This was such a bad time for her forgetfulness to show.

"_Sakuno no baka!" _she mentally admonished herself, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Tezuka-senpai…" she began to speak, wanting to explain why she forgot to tell him about the Rikkai Dai members. She felt Tezuka's eyes land on her but before she could even try to explain Tomoka had cut her off.

"Sakuno-chan!!!" Tomo yelled in glee as she approached the table Tezuka and Sakuno were occupying.

Tezuka nodded his head briefly at her before standing up to greet the other tennis players politely. "Ryuzaki." He gently called to her, urging her to greet the newcomers. There was no hint of anger in his tone or even a little bit of irritation.

The pig tailed girl slowly lifted her head and stood up to greet their guests. "Ohayo gozaimas." she managed to greet feebly.

"Ara, Sakuno-chan grows prettier everyday, doesn't she Kirihara?" Yukimura complimented with a kind smile, watching the young girl turn a bright red at the praise.

"Yeah, yeah." Kirihara muttered under his breath, earning him a hit on the head, courtesy of Tomoka.

"Seriously, no manners at all." Tomoka rolled her eyes at the tennis player beside her.

Yukimura just chuckled under his hand while Kirihara engaged in a glaring competition with Sakuno's best friend.

During all of these events however, no one noticed that Sakuno was just standing awkwardly or how Tezuka's chocolate brown eyes narrowed when Yukimura began chatting casually with his charge.

"You're food is here!" a cheerful voice exclaimed from somewhere behind Yukimura.

Yukimura stepped aside, allowing the waitress from before to place Tezuka and Sakuno's orders onto the table. Yuri blinked in surprise at the larger number of people at the table. "Tezuka, I thought you were having a date? What's with the other people?" she looked at the Seigaku buchou cluelessly, unaware of the hell she had unleashed.

Everyone's gaze swiveled onto the waitress and then to the couple by the table.

"Date?!" Tomoka repeated in shock, her mouthing forming a small 'o'.

Tezuka sighed at the waitress. "For the last time, we aren't on a date. We're just eating breakfast." he told Yuri pointedly, ignoring her dumbfounded look. He glanced at his charge who had her head bowed down once again wondering why she was so silent all of a sudden.

"But you looked so sweet together when you were holding her hand!" Yuri pouted.

"Holding her hand?" this time Tomoka was so astonished that she feared that she might faint from excitement. Things were moving along faster than expected and this was very valuable information she was getting. This was one of those times she wished she had a notebook like Inui's to carry around.

Sakuno felt really embarrassed now. She kept her head down, her gaze straying from the floor to the casual black shoes Tezuka was currently wearing. _"They suit him…" _she commented thoughtfully. Wincing, she mentally hit herself on the head for losing her focus. She should be talking right now. She should be preventing Tomoka from thinking up impossible things about her and Tezuka. "A-ano…" she stuttered.

Everyone now turned to look at her.

"It was an accident. I was being clumsy and burned my hand." she explained, waving her injured hand.

The shocked look completely disappeared from their faces and was replaced by a concerned one.

"Does it hurt?" Yukimura asked while taking the hand Sakuno was referring to.

Sakuno tried her best to refrain from blushing. "H-hai…" she stuttered.

"Ooh! I see now! It's a love triangle!" Yuri gushed, clasping her hands together. If you looked closely enough you could see heart shapes in her eyes.

Tomoka eyed the scene with interest. _"This could become useful for future plans." _she thought to herself, storing the new information in her very active brain.

Tezuka just stood impassively, ignoring what Yuri said. He felt a twinge of something when Yukimura took Sakuno's hand. What was it? He knew that Sakuno was safe with Yukimura. The Rikkai Dai captain was a gentleman. He had no doubt about that. But it couldn't stop some foreign feeling to sweep over him. It also didn't help that Yukimura seemed intent on examining Sakuno's soft hand.

"_Soft?"_ he repeated in his head wonderingly.

Yes, now he remembered. Sakuno's skin was soft to the touch when he held it in his. Well, that was probably because Sakuno didn't really do anything except for studying, cooking. She had once tried to learn how to sew but her grandmother feared that she might accidentally prick herself, so that was the end of that. Besides, soft hands suit her.

He shook his head to get rid of his thoughts. When he finally focused on his surroundings he noticed that Sakuno was already seated and preparing to eat while Yuri was taking the orders of Tomoka and the others.

"_I really need to talk to him and explain." _Sakuno thought to herself as she glanced at the oblivious captain who was obviously in deep thought. _"I wonder what he's thinking about…"_

She had finally convinced the Rikkai Dai captain that her hand was fine and that Tezuka had taken care of it but Yukimura, the gentleman that he was, wanted to double check so that no mark would be left on her skin.

"_It would be a shame to blemish such soft skin." _he had said. It was very sweet of him.

"I'll have what Sakuno ordered." Tomoka answered Yuri with a grin, giving her back the menu.

"Alrighty then! What about you two?" the perky waitress turned to Yukimura and Kirihara.

"Coffee." Yukimura requested.

"Same for me." Kirihara said as he sat down at the table to the right of Tezuka.

Yuri nodded and told them their food would be there in 10 minutes.

In Tomoka's table, she had already started a conversation with Kirihara with Yukimura making a comment or two from time to time.

It was the complete opposite in Sakuno's table. It was silent and the only sound you could hear was the occasional bumping of forks on the plain white plate.

Sakuno wasn't sure if she was the only one who felt the tension or if she was imagining it because Tezuka seemed perfectly calm. It was almost as if Sakuno hadn't forgotten to tell him about Yukimura and Kirihara. She raised an eyebrow at the thought of Tomoka and Kirihara dating. She just couldn't see them together. She peeked above Tezuka's shoulder at Tomoka only to see her laughing at something Kirihara had said. Okay, maybe it wasn't so impossible.

"Aren't you going to finish that?" a voice shocked her out of her thoughts.

She glanced at the source of the voice only to meet with dark chocolate eyes. "Eh?"

When she rethinks this moment she would've hit her head onto her desk for her less than brilliant response.

A ghost of a smile hovered above Tezuka's lips as he repeated his earlier question.

"Eto… I'm kind of full…" she trailed off, embarrassed.

Concern flashed across his eyes for a moment. Or maybe she imagined that as well.

"You should try eating more. It's not healthy to eat so little." he cautioned her.

"I was born with a small appetite." she smiled sheepishly.

Tezuka just nodded faintly.

"Tezuka-senpai."

Tezuka glanced at Sakuno curiously, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I'm sorry for forgetting to tell you about Yukimura-senpai and Kirihara-senpai. I kind of forgot…" she admitted guiltily.

An amused smile formed on Tezuka's lips, drawing Sakuno's complete attention to it. "It's fine." He assured her. The finalty in his tone completely erased any doubt in her mind that he might be angry.

Sakuno blushed lightly, still feeling guilty over the incident since Tezuka had forgiven her so easily. _"He's always so nice to me…"_ she smiled inwardly.

"Five laps."

Her head snapped up to look at the Seigaku captain disbelievingly. "N-nani?" she squeaked in surprise.

He looked at her blankly and replied, "Run five laps on Monday."

Sakuno hung her head in defeat, sighing. She knew she wasn't going to get off that easily. The Seigaku captain didn't become captain because he was lax in disciplining his team members. She should've known that. Resigning herself to her fate she continued to polish off her chocolate drink.

XXXXXXXXXX

"It's a good thing you feel better now." Yukimura remarked cheerfully, smiling ever so kindly at the pig tailed girl at his side.

The group had finished their breakfast and now had enough energy to go shopping in the mall. Sakuno was walking between the two captains while Kirihara and Tomoka walked behind them.

Sakuno thought nothing of their formation but Tomoka of course being the matchmaker noticed something about it.

Tezuka was to the left of Sakuno near the road. To any normal person this would seem like the most normal thing in the world, well, that's if you don't count the strange atmosphere around the two. They looked perfectly comfortable in each other's presence. Yukimura, on the other hand, was taking all of Sakuno's attention by chatting with her amicably. Sakuno seemed a bit shyer than normal while this was going on. Tomoka sighed at the scene. Normally the leading girl would fall for such a kind, polite gentleman like Yukimura but it seemed that Sakuno was more comfortable with the cold Seigaku buchou.

Completely unaware of her best friend's jumbled thoughts, Sakuno looked up at Yukimura to answer his question. "Feel better?" she repeated, tilting her head cutely.

"You seemed so… sad earlier." Yukimura stated quietly.

"I did?" Sakuno blinked.

"Yes." Yukimura nodded, amused at her actions. "But you seem a lot better after we left the café."

"Hai…" she agreed, not knowing what else to say.

"_After Tezuka forgave me…" _she remembered. "_I didn't know I looked that unhappy… But still…Why is it that I feel a lot better now?" _she asked herself. Her doe brown eyes widened as she slowly thought back to the conversation she had. _"When we were at the café I felt guilty about forgetting… and then I felt guiltier when Tezuka forgave me so easily…"_

But what happened after that? Tezuka had told her to run five laps on Monday… after that, whether she realized it or not, she suddenly felt better. It wasn't that Tezuka was punishing her. He told her to do that so that she wouldn't feel guilty anymore, so that she'd feel like she will have made up for her mistake.

The sophomore glanced at the silent teen beside her. Once again she had read his intention wrong. Everything he had done and said was to make her happy, to let her enjoy the outing without a cloud of guilt following her everywhere. Her eyes flittered up to Tezuka's face. "Thank you…"she whispered faintly, so faintly that no one could have heard her. She looked back in front of her, her eyes lightening in resolve. She was going to repay Tezuka for all the things he had done for her. She turned her head up and looked at the cloudless blue sky, a smile forming on her lips.

She hadn't noticed the half-smile that flittered for a second on Tezuka's lips.

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	10. First Name

Hey Guys! Sorry for the super late update… hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 12- First Name

Yukimura wasn't the type of person to laugh at other people's expense, being raised as a true gentleman by his parents, but the scene before him now made him question those values.

Tezuka, also well-known as the current Seigaku buchou, was currently held under arrest by two sophomore students, looking very uncomfortable as the girls asked for his opinion about stuffed bears. Of course, the fact that behind Tezuka was a whole rack of colorful and amusingly fashionable teddy bears of all shapes and sizes didn't really help his case.

"Tezuka-senpai?" Sakuno called innocently, trying to get the attention of the older teen.

Everyone was watching the whole exchange by now. Kirihara had left a few minutes before because of his lack of control on his obvious mirth; not all could withstand Tezuka's glare after all.

"_To laugh or not to laugh?" _Yukimura pondered in amusement as well as wondering if he would also cower under Tezuka's stare.

Sakuno was oblivious to all of this, of course. She sincerely wanted his opinion on what bear to get for her grandmother's welcome home present. Ryuzaki-sensei was coming back in a week's time and she needed to prepare a gift. A self-made bear seemed to fit perfectly since her grandmother had a hobby of collecting teddy bears; most people didn't know this though.

The pigtailed girl restrained an aggravated sigh at her current dilemma. Maybe it would be easier if she just cooked a large dinner..? A small frown graced her lips, cooking was too easy; she cooked dinner every night back home so it wouldn't be much of a present.

The violet-haired teen beside her escaped her notice and she barely had time to register surprise as she saw a light brown bear wearing a cooking apron waving at her from right in front of her. Blinking, as if to check her vision, she was surprised to find the bear still there, only after a few moments did she realize an arm attached to its side. Tracing back the arm she came face to face with brilliant blue-violet eyes.

"Yukimura-senpai?" Sakuno tilted her head questioningly at the Rikkai Dai captain.

Seiichi smiled at the younger girl and raised the bear, moving its paw in time with his words. "Saa, don't be sad."

Sakuno blinked once more before soft laughter escaped her lips. The doe-eyed girl flashed the teen a grateful smile. She was thankful she had Yukimura-san as a friend.

This small interaction didn't escape the notice of the two other teens there.

Tomo seemed to be unable to decide whether to be happy or a bit irritated that Yukimura was interfering with her plans to get Sakuno and Tezuka-senpai together, even if it was unintentional.

Tezuka's reaction was a totally different subject all together. His eyes narrowed almost unnoticeably and his lips pressed into a thin line. He wasn't angry at Yukimura at making his charge cheer up; far from that actually. He was only a bit irate at the fact that he didn't get the chance to do it first.

"Arigatou, Yukimura-senpai." Sakuno thanked him with a heartfelt smile.

The Rikkai Dai captain continued to smile, "I might have found a bear just perfect for your grandmother." He remarked thoughtfully as he browsed a shelf he was looking at earlier. "Ahh, here it is." He whispered as he pulled out a box and gave it to Sakuno. "It looks like this." He pointed at the displayed bear.

The bear wore a pink tracksuit with a matching tennis racket placed firmly in its hand and a backpack on its back. Sakuno's eyes critically looked at the stitching and how it was carefully put together. It was a bit complicated since it had equipment but it was possible for her to make it.

"It's perfect! It sort of looks like what Grandmother always wears during practice, ne Tezuka-senpai?" she turned to her upperclassman with a beaming expression.

Tezuka nodded impassively, "It does." He agreed as he too looked at the bear.

Tomoka, who was watching everything with a sharp eye reacted, "It looks exactly like her, only Ryuzaki-sensei doesn't have a teddy bear's facial attributes for a face." Sakuno's best friend grinned.

Sakuno's eyes looked up innocently as if imagining her grandmother with a teddy bear face. "Eto…"

Yukimura chuckled as he observed her. Sakuno's reactions to almost everything were impossibly cute to watch.

"I'll buy it then." Sakuno decided firmly, taking the box to the cash registrar.

Tezuka let out an imperceptible sigh of relief and Yukimura resisted the urge to chuckle once more.

After waiting a few moments, they all turned to leave, opting to wait for Sakuno outside the store.

Sakuno was walking back to her friends when something caught her eye. It was a teddy bear with a Seigaku tennis uniform…

XXXXXXXXXX

"Sakuno! What took you so long?" Tomoka asked, curiously eyeing the other plastic bag in Sakuno's hand. "Weren't you going to buy just one?"

Sakuno shot a glance at the two captains who were having a rather in-depth conversation about tennis. "I was." She answered before pausing, "I just needed to buy one more." She smiled.

Tomoka shook her head in disbelief, "You and your obsession with all things cute."

The pigtailed girl giggled and laced her arm with her friend before turning to join the other two gentlemen. "Where's Kirihara-senpai, by the way?" she inquired, remembering the other member of their group.

The girl beside her shrugged, "I'm not sure." She replied with a small frown.

XXXXXXXXXX

The group spent an amazingly fun three hours at the mall; at least, it seemed that way to Sakuno. After having a small lunch they decided to part ways and head home, exhausted from the shopping.

Sakuno waved daintily at her friend and Yukimura as they walked away, going in separate directions. She sighed contentedly as she recalled the day. All in all, it was fun, a bit disastrous at the beginning, but fun nonetheless.

Turning her brown eyes to her senpai, she gazed at him warmly. "Tezuka-senpai, today was fun wasn't it?" she tilted her head to him in question. She would feel guilty if she knew she had dragged the stoic buchou all over the mall to realize that he didn't enjoy it.

"It was." Tezuka concurred to her statement.

Sakuno nodded, satisfied with his answer. It was hard to believe she had grown close to the tennis captain this much. True, she had cared about him even before she started to stay at his house but what she felt before seemed to deepen now, although she wasn't sure of what it meant she was happy she got to spend so much time with him.

"Ryuzaki."

"Hai?" she answered softly.

"Let's go."

Sakuno titled her head, lifting the bags she had temporarily set on the ground. The younger teen sweat dropped at the sudden weight in her arms. Had they really bought that much?

Tezuka, as if noticing her struggle, turned and took the bags from her hands, ignoring her protests. "It will be easier this way; we have a long way to walk." He simply stated.

Sakuno blushed, a bit flustered and a little bothered at the same time. She glanced at the Seigaku captain, then to the floor, then back again, vaguely wondering if he would be offended with what she was about to propose.

"Tezuka-senpai?" Sakuno voiced hesitantly.

"Ryuzaki?" Tezuka stopped to look at her.

With a sudden burst of courage she raised her lowered gaze to his, "Eto... Since we… know each other better now… could you… please… call me Sakuno instead?"

A flicker of surprise passed through Tezuka's normally blank expression before he slowly nodded.

Sakuno waited for him to say it, waited to hear her name pass through his lips but Tezuka had already started walking. Pushing down a disappointed sigh she glanced once more at the ground.

"Sakuno."

Sakuno's head snapped to Tezuka's direction, her mouth parted in silent surprise. Her heart skipped a beat and her whole being filled with warmth. Why was she feeling like this?

The Seigaku captain glanced at her direction, "Coming?"

The doe-eyed teen snapped out of her daze, a bright smile finding its way to her lips as she yelled a resounding yes and ran after the older teen.

With their time seemingly closing to an end, her resolve to make these last days with him happier took a hold of her. She was going to make the best of her last week with him. Nothing else will suffice.

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	11. Comparing Thoughts

**Sorry for this short chapter everyone. I just needed to shed some light on the current feelings of our leading characters. Enjoy and please review!**

**Thank you so much to my beta-reader: ****EvilFaerie17**

Chapter 13 – Comparing thoughts

Sakuno was in a fix; there was no other term that could explain the situation she was in. With less than two days to her departure from Tezuka's house, she realized that she had done nothing spectacular whatsoever for her senpai.

Tomorrow night was going to be her last night in his house. She was running out of time. Sighing dejectedly, she turned her doe brown eyes towards the teddy perched innocently atop her bed.

This wasn't the first time her gaze wandered over to it. The pig tailed girl had been debating whether or not she should give it to the tennis captain.

Sakuno wasn't a very courageous person; everyone knew that. But she had never been this afraid. For some reason, seeing Tezuka's disappointed face saddened her more than any failure she could ever dream of committing.

Every time she mustered the courage to take the bear into her hands and walk over to the older teen, she would find herself stopping and berating herself. The reasons why she shouldn't be doing that popped into her head unannounced over and over again.

What would a person like Tezuka do with a stuffed bear? It seemed to be such a childish gift to give him.

What would he do with it? It wasn't going to help him any.

Why did she buy him a teddy bear? She should've bought some tennis equipment or something else useful.

Steadily, her grip on the teddy bear tightened as she headed up towards her room to sulk once again, oblivious to the concerned look Tezuka sent.

If she admitted it to herself, she would realize that the teddy bear reminded her of Tezuka. Not because of the Seigaku jacket, but because… to her… Tezuka seemed so much like a teddy bear. Not on the outside though, no, but in the inside.

Slowly, she rested her arms on the bed, staring at the said bear. Who would have thought she would someday compare Tezuka, the reputed Seigaku captain, to a small, cuddly teddy bear?

Sakuno looked outside the window; it was already dark outside. Standing up, she walked over to her desk and turned the lamp on, the orange glow lighting the whole room. Her eyes were drawn towards the music box beside her bed. Sitting quietly, she moved to open it, the soft music purging the earlier silence.

She always remembered during her childhood when she was left at home alone. She was always so afraid of the dark then, and all she had for company was her loyal bear; 'Taki' was the name she gave it, if she remembered correctly.

The young girl would always hug her bear, eyes closed tightly; the silence and darkness frightening her. The bear made her feel like she had someone there with her, helping her, protecting her from the suffocating darkness. It warmed her and made her feel happy inside. She felt a warm smile place itself on her lips as she recalled her grandmother's laughter at her confession later that night when she got home.

That was why she was reminded of Tezuka whenever she looked at the bear she bought...

Because he made her feel the same way... safe, protected…

"_Less than two days,"_ Sakuno murmured wistfully, brown eyes laced with sadness. _"I wonder… will things between us remain the same after this? Or will it just be another memory...?" _at this thought a bitter sadness rushed through her.

Shaking her head from all her silly thoughts, she poised her hand over the cover of the music box and sealed it shut, cutting off the sweet melody. The room resonated in silence once again. It wasn't good for her to dwell on such things now. She had other things to worry about.

Tezuka was concerned, although he wouldn't admit it aloud, for his charge. Sakuno was acting… peculiar, for the lack of a better term.

He seemed to always see her in the same room as him, doing nothing, and then suddenly rushing off towards her room with a blush on her face. She didn't even talk as much, which shouldn't really bother him, but he missed the girl's light conversations.

He also saw a lot of Band-Aids on the girl's fingers. He asked her about it once but she assured him she wasn't doing anything dangerous. The Seigaku buchou waited for her to expound on it but Sakuno didn't say anything afterwards. He just decided to let it be for that time.

The older teen watched, for the nth time, as Sakuno rushed up the stairs and entered her room.

Sighing to himself, he pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off any impeding headaches. He'd just observe her for now. If she acted like that for the next few days, then he'd talk to her.

Suddenly, Tezuka stopped whatever he was doing and stared at the calendar. November 25 was encircled with a red pen, with the words: "Sensei's arrival" written on it.

Less than two days and Sakuno's grandmother would be arriving.

Less than two days… and Sakuno would be leaving his home.

And for some reason, he felt sadness take a firm grip of his heart.

Please review!


	12. Talking

**Enjoy.**

**Thank you so much to my beta-reader: EvilFaerie17**

**Chapter 14 – Talking**

Today was the day.

The last day she would ever spend in the Tezuka household. All her clothes were packed, her books, her important belongings…

Everything was prepared for her departure. Her room looked like it was never touched, not even a clue of her stay was evident in the room.

There was a total of eight hours before she left and Sakuno was still to give the teddy bear she made, which was now hiding inside her bedside table drawer.

The pigtailed girl sighed. It was hopeless cause. She would never get enough courage to give it to him.

It hurt her that after this they would go to their own separate ways, but it was reality. Tezuka would go on being the tennis captain and she would go on watching at the sidelines. At least by giving him the small bear it would suffice as a remembrance of their time together.

She wanted to leave at least a small mark in Tezuka's life so it wouldn't seem like it had all been a dream, a distant memory. Was that selfish of her?

She wanted to remember her stay in this house forever; the initial awkwardness, those simple happy moments, the embarrassments… everything.

A bittersweet smile appeared on her lips; she had changed, hadn't she? A month ago she would never have imagined herself thinking that way. Being with Tezuka seemed to have changed her. As hard as it was to believe, she was no longer seen as a pushover. After all, it took guts to stand up to Tezuka, much less live with the stoic captain.

Well, maybe not 'stoic'. With all her time with the older teen, she had figured that out. The buchou much preferred to keep things to himself rather than tell it to others. He wasn't being indifferent or uncaring; it was just his way of doing things. Besides, a stoic person couldn't have a smile like Tezuka's…

Sakuno flushed deeply, shaking her head to get rid of her current thoughts. Her soft brown eyes glanced around the room, landing on the drawer containing the bear.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she brushed her fingers against the drawer's handle, her gaze shifting from her bag towards the drawer. Biting her lip, she wondered if she should leave the bear or put it in her suitcase.

After a few moments of reflection, she opened the drawer and put the bear in her pocket.

Seven and a half hours left.

The young teen turned her back to the room and walked to the suitcase waiting beside her door. In a few hours, she and Tezuka would meet up with the regulars and head towards the airport to fetch her grandmother.

It would be the last time she would be in this room.

Another sigh escaped her as she placed one hand on the doorknob, the other on the suitcase handle. She stopped for a moment, closed her eyes, and touched her forehead to the door.

Her heart squeezed painfully as she turned the doorknob and opened the door…

Silently, she walked out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was hard.

Sakuno thought idly as she stood in the middle of the living room. Tezuka apparently went out for a bit to buy something, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

"Ryuzaki?" a smooth baritone sounded from behind her.

Sakuno jumped in surprise, she spun around, her eyes focusing on the person behind her. "Fuji-senpai! You're early!"

Fuji smiled his usual smile as he looked at his kouhai. "Tezuka asked me to help in the decorating. Did I scare you?" There was an underlying tone of amusement in his voice that made Sakuno nervous.

Sakuno smiled and shook her head, trying to rid herself of her earlier embarrassment. Her eyes drifted to his arms where he was carrying a folded banner. "Ie, I was just surprised…" she shyly responded. "Would you like me to help with that?"

Fuji chuckled. "Don't worry; I'll take care of it. You can just relax." He assured her.

"Demo…"

The blue eyed teen smiled mischievously at her, "Tezuka's orders, I'm afraid."

Doe colored eyes widened at this, "Tezuka-senpai?" she echoed in surprise.

Fuji nodded, closely scrutinizing her reactions against her knowledge. "Yes, he said that you seemed distracted lately…" he trailed off, waiting for Sakuno to respond.

As he expected, a dark blush appeared on the young girl's cheeks, but she didn't say anything.

"He's worried, although he may not show it." He continued, walking towards the doorway of the kitchen.

Sakuno's blush worsened, its color darkening. "Sumimasen…" she trailed off, looking away from the tensai.

Fuji shook his head, still smiling. Sakuno was sure that if she saw his eyes it would also be twinkling in mirth. "Saa, you shouldn't be apologizing to me." He replied serenely as he got out the stepladder. "Ryuzaki-san, could you hold the ladder while I put this there?" he asked, tilting his head to her in a cute manner.

Sakuno walked forward, positioning her hands at the sides of the ladder for support as Fuji climbed up the steps, draping the banner on one of the steps.

The older teen balanced precariously on the steel ladder, one arm around one of the steps to keep himself from falling backwards while he cut the tape. "You must be excited to see your grandmother." he remarked while he cut strips of tape.

Sakuno nodded her head, before realizing that he couldn't see her from his vantage point. "Hai." She voiced out, her eyes focused on the white rubber shoes that Fuji was wearing. "I missed her a lot…" she softly commented.

"You'll be sad to leave Tezuka too, ne?"

The ladder wobbled slightly.

Sakuno blushed furiously, "H-hai..!" she stuttered out her reply, ignoring the urge to smack her forehead. She was sure Fuji was smirking right now.

"Sou ka…" Fuji mysteriously smiled.

Sakuno's grip tightened on the ladder as she fought down her blush. "Why do you ask?"

"Tezuka will miss you, too." He informed her, smiling as if he was watching an entertaining show.

The ladder wobbled again, this time, though, more pronounced.

The pig tailed girl choked in disbelief, her face becoming warm once again. She was sure she had some kind of blushing disorder now. It wasn't normal for a person to blush so much!

"Ryuzaki, hold the ladder tightly. We don't want any accidents, do we?" he chuckled, watching the emotions that passed across her face.

Sakuno bristled indignantly at his statement. She would have been doing her task correctly if he wasn't saying such things! "Sumimasen." She apologized, only half sincere; she was still irritated after all.

"You should visit him here even after you leave; I'm sure he'd appreciate it." He smiled, attaching one side of the banner to the wall above him.

Sakuno bit her lip, her eyes downcast. "I wouldn't want to bother him…"

"You wouldn't." Was the simple reply.

The doe eyed girl sighed.

"His grandparents will like you." He started once more.

"F-Fuji-senpai!!!" Sakuno exclaimed aloud, her face colored with mortification.

"It's true." His blue eyes stared unnervingly, but the smile didn't disappear.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked in frustration. It didn't look like it, but she was a bit hurt by his statements. It just reminded her more and more that she would be leaving. Besides, she would never be able to do those things he suggested.

Silence covered the room in a thick layer.

Fuji's gaze at her softened, "You should give it to him."

"What?" Sakuno's head snapped up to stare at him, completely dumbfounded.

Fuji returned his focus on the banner he was trying to place. "Does it look okay from down there?" he asked, completely ignoring her earlier question.

"Fuji-senpai, what were you referring to?"

The blue eyed teen glanced at her, silent.

The door opened, but it went unnoticed by the pair who were currently locked in a staring contest.

"He'll like it, so you should give it to him." He repeated his earlier words, glancing meaningfully at her pocket.

Sakuno froze in her spot, her eyes impossibly wide. "How'd you know it was..." she broke off, still looking lost.

"Fuji, Sakuno?" Tezuka glanced at them, his eyes narrowing at the blank expression on his charge's face.

Fuji smiled innocently at the bespectacled teen, tilting his head towards him. "We're done decorating." He informed him brightly.

"I see."

Sakuno's eyes glanced at the buchou. "I'll prepare some snacks in the kitchen." She excused herself, practically fleeing from the room, oblivious to the gazes of both teens following her.

XXXXXXXXXX

The young teen leaned back against the bathroom door, her heart beating loudly in her ears. She stared unseeingly into the space in front of her, her hand holding onto the bear in her pocket. Did that conversation really happen?

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**Hey guys, sorry for the late update. Hope you liked the Fuji and Sakuno interaction I got going there. Hahaha! Please review!**


	13. Celebration

Chapter 15 – Celebrations

Note:_**"Aa"**_Underlying messages in what they're saying. you'll see those in the middle to the end part.

"**Aa"**– Sakuno remembering something someone said to her

"_Aa" _– Thoughts

Thanks to: EvilFaerie17

Enjoy!

Chapter 15 – Celebrations

It was time.

Her several hours had passed by in an agonizingly fast pace, at least, that was her opinion.

The whole Seigaku team had already arrived, greeting her as they passed through the door and into the living room and kitchen to fix up the celebration they were throwing for her grandmother's homecoming.

She had offered her help, wanting to do anything to stop her ridiculous obsession with staring at the clock.

They had rejected her offer, as nicely as possible of course, saying that she should rest since she had already cooked the food needed.

Nodding her head, she just let them do what they needed to do, and headed over to the garden.

Sakuno bit her lip thoughtfully as she sat in one of the chairs by the koi pond; the teddy bear felt weirdly heavy in her pocket as if trying to constantly remind her of its presence.

She would have laughed at the thought, if this was a less depressing occasion for her.

The brunette sighed, shaking her head to get rid of her thoughts. _"I should be happy, Grandmother's coming back already…"_ she strictly told herself.

It was supposed to be a happy occasion for her, but still, the happiness she did feel simply didn't outweigh the sadness she felt at leaving the Tezuka household…

Or rather, Tezuka himself.

Flushing deeply, the doe eyed teen buried her face in her hands.

Why was she feeling this way? A few weeks ago she wouldn't have felt more than a pang of sadness at leaving this place, and yet now it felt as if a part of her was being ripped away.

It sounded overly dramatic to her, and yet it was undeniably exactly what she felt.

It wasn't like she wouldn't be able to come back here again.

She could, but only on special occasions of course.

"**You should visit him here even after you leave; I'm sure he'd appreciate it."**

"_Visit him?" _Sakuno thought incredulously—she'd need a credible reason for that. She couldn't just show up here for absolutely no reason but the fact that she wanted to see Tezuka, and that in itself was a feeble reason. It could easily be said that she saw the upperclassman every day in school.

She bit her lip harder this time.

Why was this bothering her so much?

"Sakuno," the deep baritone she'd gotten used to called to her. Raising her head, she met his gaze. "We're going."

Slowly, she nodded her head and stood up.

"_Don't frown, Sakuno." _She reminded herself as she walked to the door. _"This is a happy occasion."_

XXXXXXXXXX

"Sakuno!!" an elderly woman called warmly, enveloping the said girl in her arms.

Tears seemed to appear in her eyes unexpectedly, Sakuno observed as she wrapped her arms around her grandmother as well. "Welcome back, Obaa-chan." She greeted, smiling happily.

It was the first time Sumire had seen her granddaughter in a month, and she could already see a change in her. True, she was still Sakuno. She still had her usual pigtails, large doe eyes and innocent smile, but there was something different…

The tennis coach waved her thoughts away, deciding that this wasn't the time to dwell on them.

Instead, she turned her attention to the Seigaku team captain, and the man she entrusted Sakuno to.

"Thank you for taking care of her," she told him gratefully, amusement shining in her eyes, "I hope she wasn't too much trouble?"

Sakuno flushed red, "Obaa-chan!"

Tezuka shook his head, "She wasn't."

Sumire chuckled, patting the pigtailed girl on the head.

"Obaa-chan," the young girl smiled at her, "we're going to take you to the—Tezuka-senpai's house to celebrate your homecoming alright?"

Sakuno inwardly berated herself, wanting to pinch herself for almost saying 'the house', meaning the place where she'd lived this past month, which wasn't really her real house and so it was inappropriate for her to say.

"You didn't have to." Sumire persuaded them, embarrassed but appreciative of the effort they put in.

The doe eyed teen laughed. "It's nothing, Obaa-chan! Let's go before the food gets cold!"

This party would help take her mind off her sadness.

Sakuno's grip tightened on her grandmother's bag.

It just needed to.

XXXXXXXXXX

The party was in full swing. The whole Seigaku team was eating and laughing and having fun. Every so often, questions were shot to her Obaa-chan, asking how her stay in the U.S. went, and what she did there.

Sakuno couldn't find it in herself to mingle with them, being caught in the sudden depression she was battling.

She would just ruin the fun if she joined.

So, instead, she sat back down on the chair she had sat on before she left, staring at the peaceful pond in front of her.

"Ryuzaki?"

Sakuno turned her head in surprise, watching as Fuji walked to her spot. "Fuji-senpai! What are you doing out here?"

The blue eyed tensai just smiled, "Saa, I think I should be the one asking that question."

The upperclassman stood beside her, putting his hands in his pockets.

Silence surrounded the two, peaceful in contrast to the rowdy shouts and cheers inside the house.

"I don't want to go inside." Sakuno said softly, as if afraid someone would overhear their conversation.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to ruin the party."

Fuji frowned, turning to kneel on the grass, facing her. "Why would you think that?"

Sakuno shrugged, not really knowing what to say. It was weird to say she was sad to leave this house. It was irrational, but other than that, there was another reason, a reason that scared her completely out of her wits.

"You shouldn't allow yourself not to be sad. It's alright for you to be sad about leaving. It's understandable."

The younger teen shook her head, her voice weak, almost choked, like she was trying not to cry. "It's not only that…"

"What is it then?" he asked her.

Slowly, Sakuno raised her teary gaze to meet his, "I think… I think I may be in love with him…"

It felt odd, saying those words out in the open, and yet, it felt liberating at the same time.

And then there was that fear. The same fear she had felt when she realized she had a crush on Ryoma, only much worse.

It explained why she couldn't give the bear away. It explained the sudden wave of happiness she felt when Tezuka smiled. It explained how miserable she felt now.

Fuji didn't speak.

And she didn't expect him to. It was a surprising revelation, especially since they all thought she was still pining over the youngest in the team.

"You should give it to him."

"_**You should tell him."**_

"But..."

"_**I don't want to… I'm scared."**_

"Sakuno."

"_**You shouldn't be."**_

"I can't."

"_**What if he rejects me?"**_

"Why not?"

"_**What if he doesn't?"**_

"He's in his room. You should go."

"_**Give him the bear, at least, if you won't say anything."**_

Sakuno nodded briefly, not meeting his gaze.

"Thank you."

Fuji smiled.

"You're welcome."

XXXXXXXXXX

"_Take a deep breath."_

Here she was. Standing in front of his door, her right hand poised over the dark mahogany to knock. Her left hand was holding a small bear wearing a Seigaku jacket.

Slowly, she inhaled deeply and then exhaled, trying to gather her courage as well as calm her raging panic.

Then, she knocked.

After a few moments, the door opened, revealing the tall form of Tezuka.

"Sakuno?" he tilted his head to the side as if in question.

Happiness swirled in her as she heard him call her by name, leaving no doubt in her…

She really was in love with him.

The pigtailed girl smiled at him, determination shining in her eyes, "Tezuka-senpai… I—"

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Am I evil for leaving it at that? " Oh well, please review!


	14. Home

Here's the next instalment! Hope you didn't wait that long… Hahaha!

Thanks to my beta-reader: EvilFaerie17

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Chapter 16 - Home

Sakuno shook her head as she entered her house- yes, _her _house- fully drenched from the rain that had suddenly appeared unannounced that afternoon.

Why was she drenched?

There was a simple answer to that, one she found herself embarrassed about since it had been happening two weeks straight already, the day after she left a certain tennis captain's house…

The pigtailed teen sighed as she walked up to the bathroom, trying not to stop in one spot too long so that she wouldn't get the floor too wet.

She had been heading towards the opposite direction of where she lived with her grandmother every single school day afternoon.

The direction: Tezuka-senpai's house. Coincidence? She didn't think so.

She sighed again, doe eyes staring into her reflection in the bathroom.

Her hair was sticking to her uniform and her face, her clothes were damp and turning cold, and she looked extremely pathetic.

It wasn't because of the clothes, or the fact she was slowly but surely soaking the rug below her feet; no, it was because of another reason…

She missed Tezuka.

Honestly, she didn't know she was that reliant on him.

She honestly thought that after she left everything would be okay, a childish hope perhaps.

She thought it would be fine in the beginning.

Her feet walking towards the wrong direction during dismissal was chalked up as being a habit for the past month. Her grandmother called her on her weird behaviour as well. It was funny; she said that she was acting like she was a guest in her _own home _instead of a person who really lived there.

Sakuno laughed then, but her actions completely removed the amusement she felt for the situation.

Her opening the cupboard for plates instead of the cabinet where she knew _her_ plates were stored.

Her cooking dinner and breakfast at a set time instead of letting her grandmother do it.

Her cleaning the house when she wasn't even asked to.

She wanted to say that she was just used to doing things differently for the past month… that she was used to a different routine…

It was a _habit_, she wanted to say.But truth was there was only so much that you could blame on it.

Obviously, her subconscious was trying to make a point, a point that she really didn't want to accept but had no choice.

She was frustrated with herself.

She was embarrassed by her actions.

She was lonely…

She was missing _him_…

"_Get a grip, Sakuno!" _she mentally berated herself, not really wanting to dwell in the dark place her thoughts were taking her.

Some would simply ask her why she missed him seeing as how she saw him at school every single week day.

The answer was that when you get used to seeing a person every morning, cooking for them, talking with them, spending your evenings with them, merely seeing them for short moments wasn't enough anymore.

Her contact with him was limited, restricted to nods (on his part) and smiles (on her part).

They looked like acquaintances, distant friends… and she wanted them to be so much more.

Sakuno removed her school uniform, heading towards the shower as she turned the knob sharply towards the right.

The water was hot, almost burning, but she was cold so it was alright.

She had been taking hot showers recently.

She had been feeling cold these past two weeks.

Tezuka made her feel warm. It was like taking a drink of hot chocolate on a cool evening. There was a simple happiness that just filled you up.

She missed that warmth.

Sakuno bit her lip.

But the warmth was gone now, replaced by coldness she didn't even know she had felt. This time was only a small reprieve from her longing.

Tears pricked her eyes and suddenly she wanted to cry.

She hadn't cried. Crying was admitting that everything she thought was true. Crying meant that her first sleepless night back here wasn't because she couldn't sleep but that she couldn't sleep _here_.

What kind of home was a place where you didn't feel comfortable?

Had she really convinced herself that fully that her home was with Tezuka?

It was like a slap on the face, the simple realization that she considered his house her _home_ because she knew that it couldn't be. That place was no longer open to her. Not anymore…

For once in her life, she wished she only had that deep crush on him like she had on the tennis prince.

But alas, no such luck. Her affection had escalated into love without her notice.

Or maybe she just didn't want to notice.

But there was no running away now.

What would she run away from?

Tezuka wasn't here.

She wasn't with Tezuka.

Her pain ached in her chest, each beat of her heart sending a pang of pain through her whole body.

It hurt to _breathe_.

She didn't know this would be the outcome of her stay at his house…

The price of that time with him…

It hurt too much, and yet, regretting it would hurt even worse.

She felt like a lump was blocking her throat and the sweet air couldn't fill her lungs.

Her heart beat faster, adding to the pain.

Her tears threatened to overflow but she wouldn't let them.

This pain…

This pain would hurt less than actually admitting it.

She couldn't admit it…

How much she wanted to be with him…

Slowly, she fell onto her knees and sat down in the tub, hot water spraying her.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and before she knew it she fell asleep.

_Dream Sequence_

_The pigtailed girl smiled at him, determination shining in her eyes, "Tezuka-senpai… I—"_

_Shouts and hollers erupted from the living room, distracting both teens._

"_That's cheating, nya!!" The ever energetic voice of Eiji echoed through the hallway._

_For a moment there Sakuno's heart almost stopped beating. "Uhm…"_

_Her earlier confidence seemed to lay forgotten now as she searched for the right words to say._

_The older teen only shook his head at the voice, "What is it, Sakuno?"_

_A warm flush appeared on her cheeks. __**"Stop it, Sakuno! Focus!"**_

"_Uhm… I just…"__ she grasped for something- anything- to say. Her doe eyes shifted from him to the door then back again._

"_Admit it!! You cheated!!"_

_Both winced at the almost high pitched tone._

_Her eyes darted behind the tennis captain and saw the clock hanging on the wall behind him._

_10:46._

_She was running out of time. Her grandmother would be calling her any minute._

"_Sakuno?" the deep baritone voice shook her gently out of her thoughts._

_Soft brown met dark chocolate._

_The brunette never wanted to look away from those eyes._

_Warmth._

_It was an ironic word to associate with the teen seeing as how he was seen as the cold, strict Seigaku captain._

"_Tezuka-senpai!" she suddenly started, blushing at the slightly surprised expression on his face._

"_I…"_

"_**Just say it, Sakuno!"**_

"_I just want to…"_

"_**Spit it out!"**_

_Was it just her or did th__at voice sound like Tomo-chan?_

_Her heart was pounding in her chest and__ the words seemed stuck in her throat._

_Tezuka nodded his head, silently asking her to continue._

"_I—"_

"_**GO ON!!"**_

"_I wanted to thank you for everything!" she burst out, bowing sharply. "So… Thank you for taking care of me until now, Tezuka-senpai…"_

"_**Damn it!" the voice exclaimed aloud.**_

_The pigtailed girl inwardly sighed in relief, finally being able to say at least one coherent thing to the older teen._

_A warm hand placed itself on her head and she found herself looking back into swirling brown eyes._

_He smiled._

_Sakuno felt tears spring to her eyes and her eyes fluttered shut._

_Time seemed to stop, at least for her, in that single moment. She barely heard her heart pounding furiously in her chest. She barely felt anything but the warm presence of the man before her._

"_You're welcome." He whispered, his hand returning to his side._

_The spell was broken and reality came crashing back down._

_Was this the end of everything?_

_What would happen after this?_

_Would they return to being strangers?_

_Her mouth opened to speak, the lump in her throat appearing once again._

_What is it she wanted to say?_

_What was it that she __**could **__say?_

"_Tezuka-senpai, Coach is calling for you."_

_Ryoma's voice sounded from somewhere behind her._

_It shocked her out of her thought and helped her focus on what was happening._

_Tezuka nodded to the younger teen and turned to her. "Sakuno?"_

_Her last chance to say it…_

_What was 'it'?_

_So many questions, but no answers._

_Her eyes closed and in that split second she made her decision, "I'll go downstairs in a minute." She heard her voice say, soft and fragile._

_The dark haired teen nodded his head at her before passing by her side._

_Sakuno smiled, it seemed forced somehow but she didn't pay attention to it._

_Her hand reached into her pocket and she dimly realized she had forgotten to give it to him._

_Slowly, almost mechanically, she turned towards Tezuka's room._

_She took the bear out of her pocket and gently placed it in front of his door._

_She closed her eyes again._

_She had said all she needed to say, done what she needed to do._

_There was nothing else left to say._

_This was the end of it all._

_She turned her back and began to walk._

_That was right. The next day she'd see him and greet him, and he'd greet her back out of politeness. Like always. Like before. That was all she could expect._

_She'd cheer him from afar, silently encouraging him, just like she always did._

_Things would return to the monochromatic normality her life had been before this._

_And she would be okay with that__…_

_She needed to be okay with that._

_Her lips pursed into a thin line, as if to stop any sound from coming out._

_It was her only choice._

_End of Dream Sequence_

Sakuno awoke, gasping for breath, icy water splashing her still form.

Had she fallen asleep?

She looked around her and eyed the dirty uniform on the floor.

The doe eyed teen sighed, eyes darkening with sadness.

It was that dream again…

XXXXXXXXXX

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review!


	15. Just like the first time

Here's the next chapter, guys! Sorry it took so long! Fourth year HS is kicking the crap out of me. Anyway, cheers!

THANKS TO MY BETA: EvilFaerie17

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Chapter 17 – Just like the first time

Months have passed and here she was again in front of his house with her grandmother standing beside her. The difference was, instead of those suitcases she had brought that first day, she had two bags full of Christmas presents.

Yes. It was now Christmas.

Sakuno smiled warmly, her eyes wandering over the once familiar structure of his home.

"You've missed this place, haven't you, Sakuno?" Sumire asked her granddaughter, smiling at the bright flush that appeared on the teen's cheeks as she shyly nodded.

"Yes…" the pigtailed girl found herself saying aloud, "I've missed this place…"

Her gaze went up, landing on what she knew to be Tezuka's window.

If the tennis coach noticed the sad tone in her granddaughter's voice, she didn't say anything; instead, she walked towards the main door of the house, and knocked.

Startled, the teen blinked, her heart suddenly hammering in her chest as she realized this was the first time she'd see him again, the first time she'd be close to him again ever since those days…

Sakuno bit her lip, undecided, once again turning back into that girl who first entered this house. Shy, quiet…

Her eyes were glued to the mahogany door, watching the door knob slowly turn.

Her hands became cold, even with the protection of the gloves she was wearing.

She was nervous.

And more than that… She was curious.

Had anything changed?

XXXXXXXXXX

"Sakuno-chan! Sumire-chan!" The hyperactive, even more so today, tennis player grinned at them, throwing the door open. "Come inside! Come inside!"

Sakuno blinked in surprise as her grandmother just scowled at the teen for his use of her first name, but then again, it was Christmas.

It was full of surprises.

She looked at the presents in her hands, unwilling to look inside the house.

What if it was different?

She bit her lip harder now.

"Sakuno! What are you waiting for?" Sumire asked, raising an eyebrow at her unmoving granddaughter.

Sakuno blushed, realizing she was still standing in front of the doorway, and she slowly moved inside.

The smell of the house assaulted her, warm and welcoming, just the same.

Gathering her courage, sienna orbs looked up at her surroundings.

"_It's all the same…" _she inwardly thought.

Relief gripped at her, strongly…

And she didn't understand why this was so important.

But it was, somehow…

The young teen let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding as she looked around the house.

"_It's all the same…" _her heart cried out in relief.

"I'll take those for you." A soft baritone sounded from somewhere at her side.

For a moment, Sakuno could swear her heart stopped at the familiar voice.

She stood there, frozen, all her thoughts seeming to have left her.

She didn't know what to do.

Slowly, almost heart wrenchingly, she looked beside her.

Dark brown met dark brown once again.

Just like the first time.

The pigtailed girl found it hard to breathe; it wasn't an understatement.

She hadn't realized just how _much _she had missed him.

Missed him to the point where she couldn't even form a coherent sentence.

Sakuno nodded her head, allowing him to take the bags from her hands.

Warm calloused fingers brushed slightly against her hand, but it was enough for the warm tingles to spread through her whole limb.

The weight of the bags left her, and she hadn't even realized it.

Her heart was thundering in her ears. She couldn't think. Her mind was in overload.

"Would anyone like some tea?" she suddenly blurted out, her voice pitching upwards, an obvious sign that she was nervous.

Sumire smiled at the obvious blush spreading through Sakuno's cheeks. "You should ask Tezuka if you can use the kitchen first." she said, trying to hold in a laugh at the horrified and embarrassed expression that crossed the young teen's face.

"It's fine." Tezuka nodded to Sakuno, giving her permission as he put the presents underneath the Christmas tree for later.

The brown eyed girl whispered a small "Thank you," then hurriedly moved towards the kitchen.

Eiji frowned at the sudden change in attitude of the fleeing girl, "Is something wrong with Sakuno, nya?"

Sumire shrugged, but the glint in her eyes showed that she knew. "Tezuka, go help Sakuno, she might not remember where the kettle and the cups are."

The tennis captain looked at the older woman for a moment before turning to leave towards the direction Sakuno had headed.

"Tezuka-buchou is acting weird too, nya!" Eiji exclaimed, his frown deepening.

Fortunately, the distractions had arrived in the form of the whole Seigaku tennis team.

"We brought the food!" Momoshiro shouted eagerly, waving a plastic bag above his head, his other arm on a rather irate Ryoma's shoulders.

"Mada mada dane." He muttered, pulling his hat towards his face, an effective shield against the taller teen's attack.

"Maa maa." Oishi interrupted, a frown on his face.

"Shhh…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Sakuno put a hand over her heart, willing it to stop its incessant pounding. It felt like she had run miles while in reality she had only looked him in the eyes.

Was it going to be like this from now on?

She shut her eyes tightly, biting her lip.

"Sakuno."

The doe eyed teen whirled around, spluttering as a mad blush raced across her cheeks once again. "Y-yes?"

Her heart seemed to want to pound itself out of her chest. She could feel it slamming against her ribcage with every heartbeat.

She couldn't find it in herself to look at him properly; her eyes kept glancing away whenever they met his.

Why was she acting like an obsessed school girl?

"_Mou! I am a school girl!" _her mind wailed.

The overwhelming feeling of his presence, his voice, his gaze, it was enough to send her heart skyrocketing towards Mars.

She struggled to calm herself even though she knew her hands were shaking.

"The kettle and the cups are in the cupboard above you." He told her, his eyes glinting with something like concern.

The petite girl nodded, her blush slowly disappearing as she struggled to gain full control of herself. "H-hai!" she smiled nervously, turning her back towards him and raising a hand to open the said cupboard.

The brunette stood on the tips of her toes, struggling to get the kettle that was just millimetres from her reach.

Before she realized it, a larger hand reached from behind her, getting the kettle for her.

The blush she had valiantly fought to keep down once again appeared.

Without a word, he put it in her hands, getting the other cups as well.

Sakuno looked up at him shyly, somehow comforted by the familiar moment. "I'm sorry I keep bothering you with that, still."

Chocolate eyes glanced at hers, and she felt herself falling head first into them. "It's fine."

She blinked, and she could almost swear there was a ghost of a smile on the tennis captain's lips. But as she noticed that, she didn't notice the same one on hers.

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Please review!


	16. Epilogue

_I am so sorry this chapter took so long to get here (a year, I think?). It was just that I had completely no idea how to end this. And thus, I stalled. I felt guilty about leaving you guys hanging for such a long time but I would have felt guiltier if I just posted some half-hearted attempt at an ending. So, again, I'm very sorry. :) I hope you guys enjoy the last and final chapter of 'Best Seigaku Romance Novel'._

_**And a lot of thanks to for being there to read all of the chapters: ****EvilFaerie17 (Thank you!!!)  
**_

_And, I just want everyone to know that it was a blast writing this and reading your reviews. _

_My heartfelt thanks to everyone for supporting this story and waiting patiently for this chapter! ^_^_

**_Enjoy._**

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_Epilogue_

It was a Thursday.

Time had passed— a _lot _of time.

She was no longer the blushing naïve pigtailed brunette everyone knew (although she did show up from time to time). She was older, more mature, and blushed a little less (she'd like to think). She still got lost regularly. She was sometimes forgetful…

She was still unbelievably in love with Tezuka Kunimistu.

A soft smile played on her lips as turned to the window that was angled towards the tennis court, knowing that the teen she was looking for would be there.

Her eyes locked on the figure probably shouting orders at the tired looking team, amused fondness brightening her doe eyes.

It had taken one year (since the welcome party for her grandmother), several decidedly crazy schemes concocted by their friends, and one Valentine's day to make them admit what they had been feeling for each other (which neither knew about until that moment). To her joy, her fear that they would completely fade out of each other's lives like a fleeting memory did not happen. If anything, they had found time to meet each other despite their schedules. It also helped that Sakuno regularly went to the tennis courts.

They were friends, and she couldn't have been happier at that. She had been content.

So, _how _did they get together?

Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't a scheme from one of their friends that _finally _pushed the two of them together, but an effort on both of their parts.

She had made chocolate.

He had accepted.

She giggled a bit as she remembered the moment.

It wasn't anything like the movies or the shows. She didn't shove her chocolate offering into his arms, scream her love at the top of her lungs and wait for a favourable reply. He didn't look at all shocked. A smile didn't appear on his lips and he never said: _"I love you too."_

It wasn't their style. It wasn't _them_.

What had really happened was that she had made chocolate, put it into a small simple wrapper, and shyly gave it to him.

That was the plan: give it to him, thank him, and leave.

She had never planned to confess that day.

The sun was setting in the background, and they stood there at the side of the tennis court, looking at each other quietly. It felt like something out of a painting.

She handed it to him, and their hands brushed. There had been a feeling in the air— a: _this is it _type of air (and it wasn't because the tennis team were hiding in the bushes, spying on them and making silent: "Just say it already!" screams in their heads). Their hands hadn't moved, and they were lost in each other's eyes. They didn't notice anything else.

He whispered a quiet: "Thank you, Sakuno."

And she just nodded, smiling dazedly with a flush on her cheeks.

Their hands still hadn't moved.

The moment waned, and after she had gathered her wits about her—

_What was she doing staring at him so openly like that?_

—and forced her blush down, she moved to leave.

He caught her hand in his before she could fully turn away.

Her heart stopped, and before she could think, she had turned back towards him, confusion written across her features. "Tezuka-senpai?"

"I'll be sure to give you something on White Day." He said quietly, as if any louder would break the fragile atmosphere surrounding them.

She had been a blushing, stuttering— _mess_. She had been wide eyed, confused, and only managing to smile back brightly and nod because her brain was somehow telling her that it was the appropriate thing to do.

He had been calm, collected— with a hint of a flush on his cheeks.

And, unbeknownst to them, their friends who were in the bushes spying on them were jumping up and down and hugging and high-fiving each other (mostly Momoshiro and Eiji). Oishi-senpai, if one were to look, had tears in his eyes. Fuji was just smiling like he knew it would happen. And Kawamura was being held back by Ryoma (reluctantly), Inui, and Kaidou.

"_Buuuuuuuuuuurning!!!"_

It hadn't been an outright confession— she had never expected it to be one.

Still, it had been unbelievable.

Like magic, or gravity, or whatever force there was— the man on the tennis court turned his head towards her exact direction. And even from her considerable distance, she could see— _feel_— his lips twitch.

Her own answering one widened, and she couldn't help but wave at him, watching as a flicker of a smile passed on his lips.

How they ended up together, for others, seemed like a dream. A well-written, carefully plotted, engaging romance novel— probably one of the best love stories that ever made itself in this campus.

For her, well, she wasn't sure.

All she knew was that how they got here, all the moments in between, it wasn't the work of someone (Fate? Destiny?).

It had been purely… _them_.

And it was perfect that way.

_END_

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For the final time: Review!~ :D


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